A Different Kind of You
by magic-reeni
Summary: Yugi’s a prostitute and has many favorites that come to him to release tension and whatnot at the whorehouse he’s living in. When a new customer comes in though what chaos will they bring? And how will he fix it?
1. Fateful Encounter

Yugi awoke with a groan and immediately reached underneath his creaky, worn out mattress for the bottle of Tylenol there. He pulled it out, careful not to shift too much onto his hips or back. The springs squeaked underneath him as his arm shifted around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the plastic under his touch and he pulled it out.  
  
He'd had a new customer come last night who'd been particularly rough. He was grateful for the apology he was given after the man had paid him though. It wasn't required to after you finished your business since it was their job to endure that sort of thing, but the few who did were greatly appreciated.  
  
Violet eyes cracked open to look at the bottle so he could line up the stupid arrows and open it. After tossing the lid somewhere on the floor, Yugi tipped the bottle to retrieve the last two pills.  
  
Sighing he thought 'Guess I'll be going out to the drug store later for more. There's no way I could survive much without these.' With another sigh he downed them both, not bothering to get anything to drink.  
  
Yugi might've been in the prostitute 'profession' for years now, since he was fifteen and his grandpa died, but he still wasn't used to some of the stuff thrown at him. Being a prostitute, of course, hadn't been his first choice. First, he tried living with some of his friends but after their parents found out he was living there with no intention of leaving, they threatened to phone the 'proper authorities' to retrieve him and find him a home. He had even tried pretend leaving and sneaking back in through a window, but even that didn't help when he was found out one morning.  
  
'Life really sucks' Yugi thought to himself as he rolled slowly and carefully off his bed. He whimpered slightly as he settled on his sore bottom and looked around for his clothes that had been scattered the night before. He let out a soft whine when he saw them on the other side of the room. Ever so slowly, he dropped softly to his knees and crawled over to them.  
  
It didn't take much to put them on. He used the wall to pull himself up and he looked into his beat up and slightly cracked mirror to adjust his clothes. He smoothed out the small wrinkles in the hip riding leather pants, adjusted his tight black shirt that stopped just a few inches before his navel, and then straightened out his sleeveless fishnet before deciding it was good enough. He dragged over his black boots and snapped them on before rummaging around for his makeup bag. He knew he probably shouldn't work tonight after what had happened with the last customer, him being so sore on all, but he would have to ask his boss. He was the one, after all, that had taken him in a given him a home and a job. Since he was so used to the makeup being on now, he decided to at least have it light. After putting on black eyeliner and taking the shine from his face he decided it would have to be good enough. Not wanting to take any customers, if his boss would let him, before he got his painkillers, he pulled out a black trench coat and pulled it on.  
  
After deciding he was ready, he picked up his wallet, stuffing it in his pocket, he opened his door and headed down the hall to his boss' office.  
  
"Yugi," somebody shouted to him from down the hall. The nineteen year old didn't have time to turn around before the sound of someone running down the old hall was heard and said person jumped on his back excitedly.  
  
The violet-eyed teen cried out lightly and dropped to his knees, biting the inside of his cheek until the throbbing in his lower back had stopped.  
  
"Gosh, I'm sorry, Yugi," the person said. Yugi looked up into similar lavender eyes and the comforting looking face that belonged to his best friend. "Did you have a rough round last night with that new guy," Malik asked.  
  
Yugi swallowed down the rest of the pain, glad to realize his pills were starting to work, and nodded.  
  
"I should've realized that. I'm sorry," he held out his hand, which was gladly taken. "You should talk to Marik about not working tonight, maybe tomorrow night too. You've been at it like rabbits in heat lately and I'm sure he wouldn't mind."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Yugi agreed, "I was on my way right now."  
  
"I'll go with you. I wanna say good morning to him," he smiled excitedly.  
  
Yugi smiled and nodded, allowing Malik to take his hand and lead him the rest of the way down the hall. It was common knowledge that Malik and the boss were in a serious relationship, though why Marik continued having Malik work as a prostitute always threw him off. It was probably because Malik had been here so long (since he was very young) and wouldn't know what to do if Marik took him off the roll? Or maybe it was just because it was so hard to get out of this business once you've been in it and Malik didn't want everyone to think he was just having sex with the boss to get his way through? Either way, Yugi thought that was good of him not to flaunt his relationship about.  
  
The two were just passing by his other best friend Joey's room when the door opened and a familiar looking CEO walked out, fixing the buttons and collar of his shirt as he walked.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba," Yugi smiled at him.  
  
"Yugi," he nodded back, "How many times must as I remind you to call me Seto?"  
  
"Sorry, Mr....er....Seto, it's mostly just out of habit with the other customers. So did you have a good night?"  
  
"Of course; any night with Joey is the best night. He's so good at what he does." With that, Seto walked off with a somewhat goofy smile one, one he probably didn't know he had on.  
  
Yugi shook his head as he watched him go before looking up at Malik, "When do you think he's going to figure it out?"  
  
"What," Malik asked, "that he likes Joey more than a good lay?" Yugi nodded. "I'll be damned if they didn't know it already, but then again, both are pretty stubborn people. Did you hear about the argument a couple weeks ago?"  
  
Yugi shook his head as they started to walk again, "What argument?"  
  
"Joey's schedule was packed tight, but Seto refused to have anyone take his place. It caused such a major uproar when he stormed in here to personally sort it all out. In the end he only got his way by slipping a few of the customers a couple hundred dollars so he could have that time to himself."  
  
"Geez, I didn't think he'd go that far. It just goes to show that people are full of surprises."  
  
"Look, there it is!" Malik ran the rest of the way and stuck his ear up against the door. He must've been upset to hear that somebody was in there talking to Marik since he didn't go storming in like usual. Instead, he waited for Yugi to catch up before he knocked politely on the door.  
  
The door opened and Marik looked curiously at the two before smiling. "Ah, Yugi, Malik," he said, "Just the perfect timing as usual, Yugi, we were just talking about you."  
  
Yugi was surprised, but stepped forward politely. If there was one thing that Marik had pried in it was that he made sure all of his workers had good manners towards customers.  
  
"Yugi," Marik gestured to the bulky man smirking lustily from his chair, "this is a new customer coming to see how our business goes. He described his type and thought you'd be perfect for him." The spiky haired man leant down and whispered in his ear, "I need to have a little chat with you as soon as we're alone."  
  
Yugi gulped, scared that he'd done something wrong, but nothing was coming to mind. He nodded just slightly to show he understood. When he looked up at Marik however, the violet eyes weren't full of anger like he'd seen aimed at a few people before, but rather concern. His fears quelled only slightly before more thoughts of what could cause that concern to burn in those depths.  
  
The man stood and held out a calloused hand to Yugi. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yugi," he said, "I've heard many wonderful qualities and I look forward to working with you. I'm Mr. Taylor, but you can call me James."  
  
Yugi didn't want to, but took the man's much larger hand in his and shook it until the man let go. He was a bit disgusted though when the man put his arm around his shoulders. He looked up at Marik desperately. Everyone knew only Yugi's regulars could do that. Yugi was by no means enjoying his work and that meant he was uncomfortable around people he didn't get to know. At least his regulars talked to him and got to know him more than some people who come in for a quick ride in bliss before dropping their money at his feet and leaving.  
  
"But, Yugi, you said you were hear for hmph..." Yugi's hand quickly slapped across Malik's as he laughed nervously.  
  
"Well," Marik thought quickly, "You did say you were quite busy, Mr. Brown."  
  
The arm was removed and Yugi held in a sigh of relief.  
  
"Yes, yes, of course. How could I have forgotten such important business? I'll be back later tonight than. A pleasure to meet you, Yugi," he stated the last part at the teen.  
  
Yugi nodded back politely and watched him go gratefully, not looking forward to tonight.  
  
Once he was gone, Marik turned eyes on the two of them. "What was that about?"  
  
"Well, Marik, you see, there's a reason we came," Malik started.  
  
"It was to wish you a good morning," Yugi finished.  
  
"But, Yugi..."  
  
"Malik, shut it!"  
  
"Yugi," Marik said in his voice that meant business.  
  
The amethyst-eyed teen looked down at the floor and admitted the real reason he'd come.  
  
"Why didn't you say something before? I'm sure he would've understood."  
  
"It's no big deal, Marik. I'll just wait it out. Now then," he started quickly to change the subject, "I'll be gone for the morning for more pain killers and maybe just walk around for a bit. I'll be back before Mr. Brown arrives back for our appointment." With that, Yugi turned on his heel and walked away quickly before either of them could say a word.  
  
When he was gone, Malik turned to Marik with narrow eyes. "He was limping."  
  
"Yes," Marik sighed. "Mr. Brown did leave his cell phone number in case I thought of something else," he started to rummage around in one of his pants' pockets before soft hands stopped him.  
  
"Marik, you know how Yugi'll act if he finds out you did that."  
  
He sighed again, "Yes, you're right. He's been working so hard though. I wish I had remembered that when I mentioned him or I would've made his appointment on a different day."  
  
"Just make sure you give him the day off tomorrow."  
  
"Yes, of course I will. I can't believe I forgot about his schedule," Marik smacked his forehead with his hand, "I feel so inconsiderate."  
  
"He knows you've been stacked up with work lately. He understands, Marik, so don't worry."  
  
Marik nodded and wrapped his arms around Malik's waist, resting his head on his shoulder. "You've got appointments with some of your more rowdy customers tonight."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you think you could handle an unscheduled one," Marik hinted hopefully.  
  
"I really should deny you for what you did to my best friend, but I'll let it slide this time since I was hoping you'd ask," Malik smirked before covering his lips over the other's.  
  
Yugi shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he strolled along the sidewalk, watching all the people go on with their lives. He hated the winter sometimes. It always got so cold and he barely wore anything underneath.  
  
'I really need to go clothes shopping one of these days just for purposes like these' He thought as he huddled further into the jacket.  
  
Gratefully he saw the drug store only a block away further and sped up.  
  
'I wonder what Marik wanted to talk to me about along' Yugi thought absently as he opened the door and warmth spread over his face from the heater.  
  
The teen sighed gratefully and headed for the familiar isle with the painkillers. He looked through a few before picking up a bottle of regular Tylenol and then Tylenol PM to help him sleep before heading for the register.  
  
After paying for the two bottles he shoved them in his pocket along with his hands before stepping outside again, the sting of icy wind biting his cheek when he did.  
  
He decided he wasn't just ready to go back to the prostitute building and, instead, headed for the park nearby. He sat down on one of the benches and watched the children playing in the little snow that had fallen the night before. Looking up to the sky, Yugi thought, 'There's going to be more snow tonight too. I'll have to tell Marik that so he'll turn the generator on again.'  
  
Across the park Yugi saw an interesting sight. Two people were making out against a tree, apparently not caring about complete strangers watching them go at it. But then, the guy pulled away and smirked. He said something to the girl and she ran off crying after yelling at him for what he said. The guy just shook his head and headed off.  
  
When he was close enough, Yugi spoke, "What did you say to her?" For some reason the person intrigued him. If only his life was as simple as a few cruel words to get people away from you.  
  
The words caught the other person's attention and he waited a little while before he moved forward and sat down. "I just told her that she kisses like a fat cow and that I wasn't going to go out with her. I can't stand people who are lousy in bed," he said casually, as if his words weren't a big deal.  
  
"If only life were that simple for people like me," Yugi sighed.  
  
That statement caught the teen's attention and he stared at Yugi. Yugi looked back at him and was surprised at the resemblance between them, but since the other didn't say anything about it, he decided not to either.  
  
"What do you mean," He finally asked.  
  
Yugi wasn't sure if he should tell the guy or not, but then he just shrugged it off. Who cared if the guy liked it or not? It's not like he was ever going to see him or anything? "Prostitutes I mean. If only it were as simple as a few words to get people to leave you alone. But we need those customers just as they need us to get off."  
  
"A prostitute, huh? Damn, talk about a great life," Yugi's eyes widened as he stared at the guy.  
  
'What is the guy talking about? Prostitutes having great lives! No way,' he thought.  
  
Seeing Yugi's look, the guy laughed. "Well, think about," he started, "people come to them for sex and they get paid big for the services whether you suck it at not."  
  
Yugi looked down at his lap. 'That's not how it is at all,' Yugi thought, 'You've got to be really good for those cruel ones or they won't pay a cent.' "You're wrong," he found himself saying before he even realized it.  
  
"What," the guy asked, shocked at the unexpected he reply. He was expecting more on the line of an agreement or something.  
  
"It isn't as great as you claim it is. It's a hard life and if you don't do it well you won't make it. Most of us don't even want to make it because it gives us chances to get our lives back together after we thought we didn't have any choice left. All of us want to leave, but we can't because we don't know any other way to live. It's painful sometimes and you can't do anything to stop that person from hurting you or else you won't get paid. You can get shoved out on the streets if you're not careful and if you don't that you won't have any place to turn if you were told you were going to make it in that business."  
  
The guy was silent for a while before he nodded, "Yeah, maybe. I guess everyone has different views. But then again, yours might be the better one because you actually are a prostitute and I'm just an onlooker, right?" He held out his hand to Yugi, "I'm Yami."  
  
"Yugi," he smiled.  
  
"I might have to look you up if I ever go to your end of the neighborhood," Yami told him.  
  
The two talked for a few hours about anything at all. Yugi explained what some people could be like and Yami just talked about anything he liked. He sort of gave off the impression that he doesn't care what people do to him and all he cared about was getting a rush, no matter what gave it to him.  
  
Yugi looked towards the clock tower before standing up. "Well, I should be going. I have an appointment today with a new customer."  
  
"Good luck, Yugi. Maybe we'll see each other again someday," he said before leaving in the opposite direction, waving just before he turned the corner.  
  
Yugi watched him go before turning and also walking out of the park.  
  
"Yugi," Marik shouted when he saw him enter the building, "I was afraid you wouldn't be here in time."  
  
"I'm fifteen minutes early, Marik," Yugi told him.  
  
"I know, but I still need to talk to you about some important. Come on, hurry," he said as he pulled Yugi along by his hand. "I would've liked to tell you this a lot sooner so you would have time to adjust to it, but you left in such a hurry and you never came back until now. I've been waiting all day," he explained.  
  
He closed the office door behind him and pulled Yugi away from it so there wasn't a chance of somebody overhearing.  
  
"Yugi," Marik started.  
  
"Listen, Marik," he interrupted, "I'm sure Malik told you about me coming this morning for the day off, but I really don't mind. I'll just take a different day off, that's all."  
  
"It's not that, Yugi. I mean...well, yes, I wanted to apologize for that because he did tell me that, but there's something I need to tell you about Mr. Brown. You see, he's not one of your regulars."  
  
"I know that, Marik. You told me yourself that he's new."  
  
"Not that way, Yugi. He's one of those kinds of people," Marik paused before looking away. "I reluctant at first to give him to you after he told me what he liked, but he already was so interested in you. I was going to persuade him out of it and I'd pick someone else, but then you and Malik came by and I didn't get the chance."  
  
"I-I don't understand, Marik," Yugi stuttered, extremely worried, "What are you trying to tell me?"  
  
"Yugi, Mr. Brown wants to take you in the back room," he sighed miserable, giving Yugi the most sympathetic looks he's ever given before.  
  
Yugi's eyes widened and he would've fallen over if it hadn't been for Marik holding him up. The older man led him to sit in his chair and rubbed his shoulders soothingly, anything that would help him.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Yugi. I tried, I really did try, but his mind was stuck on you. Please, please don't hate me," Marik begged. "I know how you feel about that sort of thing, but nothing would change his mind."  
  
Yugi shook his head and plastered a smile on his face, "No, no it's alright, I'll be fine." Yugi knew that was a lie and he knew even better than that that Marik wouldn't ever buy something like that. Everyone in the prostitute house knew Yugi's story and why he didn't like the back room, as everyone called it.  
  
A knock rapped on the door and Marik's eyes swiveled to the clock on the wall, his eyes widening at the time. A click made him rivet his head around and Yugi was forcing a smile on his face as he greeted Mr. Brown. Marik was about to stop him from going, but Yugi just waved and stepped out the door, closing it behind him after wishing him a good night.  
  
Well, there's the first chapter. So what's the 'back room'? hehe, you'll just have to stick around to find out. And what's with Yami? Why does Yugi hate the 'back room' so much? All to come up.  
  
To all fanfiction.net readers: Some of these chapters will have lemon scenes in them and I won't be able to post them. I will be leaving links to either mediaminer.org or adultfanfiction.net for you so you'll be able to read them without having to worry about emailing me like in past fics. 


	2. Contraptions and the Like

Oops, hehe, I'm just an idiot sometimes. Some of you might have noticed that 'Mr. Brown' was actually a 'Mr. Taylor' like the first time I called him that, but I made a mistake and just started calling him 'Mr. Brown' instead, so I'm just going to stick with that name now. It's not like he's going to show up very often anyway. I just needed someone to start off with to help give Yugi more personality qualities, if that makes any sense. ;;  
  
Yugi led the way to the back room tensely, wanting to slow down with every step but unable to because Mr. Brown was following him.  
  
'He's a paying customer and I can't let him or Marik down,' Yugi thought, putting on a brave face, 'Maybe if he was an old, regular customer than I might be able to get out of it, but Marik loves this business and if I don't do this than he'll lose Mr. Brown as a customer.'  
  
"Well, think about," Yami started, "people come to them for sex and they get paid big for the services whether you suck it at not."  
  
Yugi froze mid step; the phrase that ran across his mind caught him by surprise.  
  
"Is there something wrong," Mr. Brown asked curiously, a smug looking expression on his face.  
  
Yugi looked back at him and quickly shook his head. "No," he started, swallowing around the ever-growing ball in his throat that had started the second he stepped out of Marik's office, "No, there isn't anything, Mr. Brown. I apologize."  
  
The man nodded and gestured for Yugi to continue on. The teen nodded and before he even realized it they had arrived at a worn old door, termite streaks making designs along its frame, and a taped up piece of ripped paper with a black marker writing out the two words Yugi hated the most: Back Room.  
  
He swallowed again and stepped aside, gesturing for Mr. Brown to open it since he knew he couldn't touch the doorknob lest he get too scared and run away.  
  
'Now that would be just great for business,' Yugi thought sarcastically, 'Long-time prostitute runs away from a dumb room.'  
  
The man opened the door and moved inside, Yugi shuffling in after him. The teen quickly shut the door beside him; his eyes clenched shut, as he felt around the door until he touched the lock, clicking it into place. .  
  
'There, in my haste should I try to escape I won't remember about the door and won't be coherent enough to try unlocking it,' He paused for a second before a wrinkle appeared above his brow, 'I just hope nobody else will need to use the room before I get to leave this place.'  
  
"Everything okay, Yugi," Mr. Brown questioned again.  
  
Worrying his lower lip between his teeth, Yugi finally opened his eyes and looked straight at the man, trying his best not to glance around the room he'd been in only once before. "No," he squeaked, "Everything's just peachy."  
  
Against his better judgment, or maybe just beyond his ultimate control, Yugi's eyes wandered around the room, sweat forming at everything he saw.  
  
There wasn't all that much in the room, but he'd overheard Marik a few times on the phone in the last couple weeks talking about the back room and new and better 'equipment' for it.  
  
At the far was a bed with four posts, one at each corner, and cuffed to each one were handcuffs; a key for them sat on the nightstand for them alongside the bed. Also on the stand were slightly padded handcuffs that didn't chaff at the wrists like the ones currently on the bed.  
  
Violet eyes shifted just left of the bed to the next wall where straps hung from the ceiling. Yugi heard many of the other prostitutes talking about that device and knew it had to be that one since it was the only one in the room that hung from the ceiling. He'd heard it was meant for many different positions and to strap the person being taken so the person penetrating could do all sorts of the things to the other.  
  
Yugi swallowed around the large ball in his throat again and found himself to be breathing harder. One glance at Mr. Brown clearly showed that he thought the room aroused Yugi, but the teen knew better than that. He was just scared out of his wits and the faster breathing was because of that fear.  
  
Once more against better judgment, Yugi looked to the rack sitting to the left of the hanging contraption. On the top of the rack held different lengths of whips and, each one had a different number of tails.  
  
"The more tails there are, the more aroused I get. Each time it feels even better than the last. I can't wait until I train myself to handle the nine- tailed one; that one should make me cum without even being touched!"  
  
Yugi felt his jaw drop slightly as he remembered one of the other boys saying that as he passed him in the halls. The guy had his shirt off and his friend he was talking to had a wet rag held up to his back. Yugi had turned to watch him go and he'd had goose bumps rise immediately as he saw how torn apart the guy's skin was.  
  
'He was just whipped like there was no tomorrow and he's excited about having more? I'll never understand some of these people,' Yugi had thought, fear tinting his thoughts.  
  
There was a second shelf with a blanket covering it, but Yugi knew that different assortments of knives were lying there. They were covered to keep dust and other particles released into the air off them so they wouldn't infect the person they were cutting into. Next to the rack was a sharpener in case the knives were going dull.  
  
Yugi didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he looked to the wall right of the bed this time. His eyes widened even further as he saw the handcuffs where the arms would either be raised above the head or spread out completely horizontally, and then there was also cuffs where the feet would either be together or spread eagle. Just looking at the cuffs, Yugi could easily tell the favorites were the arms raised above the head and legs spread out just by how chaffed they were. He also knew that those cuffs were mostly used for those people who used the knives or the whips.  
  
And lastly next to the cuffs on the wall was a small, old child's toy chest with a bench sitting beside it in case you didn't want to move to the bed. Yugi swallowed again with more beads of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He'd even more guys and even some girls talk about the 'toy chest'. There were all sorts of different stuff in there. Guys mostly talked about the vibrators and cock rings while the girls tended to favor the dildos and some also enjoyed the vibrators.  
  
"Let's get started than," Mr. Brown said suddenly, startling Yugi out of his thoughts.  
  
He stuttered for a minute, before finally somehow finding the way to nod at the man and watched as he started taking off his clothes, turning his back to Yugi for a second.  
  
Something bumped against the back of Yugi's old tennies and he looked to se a small piece of paper with a small pill taped to it. He picked it up quickly before the man undressing noticed and read what was on the paper.  
  
"This is for Yugi." The quickly scribbled note said. Yugi knew it was Marik's handwriting, but he wondered what it could be. He looked at it for a minute before his eyes widened. He looked back at the door quickly and saw a shadow hurry away from it. He smirked and made a mental note to thank his boss when he got out of this. He peeled off the tape and quickly downed the pill, using the little saliva in his mouth to help watch it down.  
  
Feeling slightly more relieved about what he was going to do about his arousal problem he also started to undress. He was even more relieved to know that Mr. Brown hadn't seen anything of what just happened.  
  
He looked over at the taller man and found him to be very well built.  
  
'A bit too muscular for my liking,' Yugi thought, mentally sighing, 'Oh well, if anything's going to stop me from running away from the room, I'd bet it's those muscles that hold me down more than the lock on the door will.'  
  
Mr. Brown started for the bed and Yugi stepped forward, feeling some relief as he felt the aphrodisiac he'd taken finally take effect on him and slight light-headedness come to him as he moved to the bed.  
  
'At least with the pill I took I might not even notice being tied down.'  
  
The larger man gestured for Yugi to lie face down, he did so, it wasn't a moment too soon when panic started to slightly fan over Yugi's mind when the first cuff was clicked into place around his left ankle, the right one following soon after before Mr. Brown moved to the head of the bed.  
  
Tension seeped into his muscles and he felt a slightly wet finger poke at his entrance.  
  
'Wait a minute,' Yugi shouted in his head, 'How in the hell did his finger get wet? He never went to the chest for lubricant! So that must mean he...' He never got to finish his thought as a small burn throbbed at the stretched skin at his entrance where the finger suddenly shoved into him.  
  
Two more fingers followed soon after, much dryer than the first had been, before they were removed. Yugi was extremely grateful at this point, tears coming to his eyes as his nerves and memories started reaching the best of him, that he wasn't facing the man while he was doing this.  
  
Completely without warning the man shoved into him and Yugi bit his lip so hard it split and started to bleed, but even that pain only felt like a small tingle compared to what the man was doing behind him.  
  
The guy didn't even give him time to adjust to his large size before he pulled out and shoved back inside of him again. Over and over again; it just never seemed to end for Yugi as he sucked on his bottom lip, trying to focus on the coppery taste of his blood as it touched his tongue rather than the amount blood probably starting to coat the man's shaft as he continued to ruthlessly thrust into him.  
  
It was centuries it seemed when the man finally released into him. One of the hands came around to his front, sliding between the sheets and his stomach, and started to stroke him teasingly for a few minutes before sliding it harsher up and down.  
  
'Thank the gods for aphrodisiacs; otherwise I'd never be able to release off something like this, let alone get aroused!' Yugi thought before everything went white and he came onto the sheets.  
  
He faintly heard the click of the lock on somewhere to his right and briefly registered that the cuffs were coming off.  
  
'Maybe it'll be all over now,' He thought with little hope. He knew that people paying the extra hundred for the back room wouldn't use just one thing and then leave, not unless a measly one hundred dollars is like a worthless penny to them.  
  
As soon as Yugi's violet eyed opened Mr. Brown was seen smirked at him and used his finger to show the teen where he wanted Yugi to be. He gulped, but already felt the tingles of arousal seep back into him with help of the pill: Mr. Brown wanted him on the hanging holster.  
  
He stood and shuffled slowly, but not so much that the man would suspect something, and waited for Mr. Brown to say what he wanted.  
  
"How bout this time you go on your back, spread eagle?"  
  
Yugi, worried his lip again, but hurried and got into the position, not liking the fact that the only thing keeping from becoming better acquainted with the floor were a hard metal clasps in the ceiling.  
  
Just like the time before that, the customer shoved into Yugi mercilessly. The teen was relieved, however, to see that Mr. Brown, James he faintly recalled being told upon first meeting him, had his eyes clenched type as he thrust in and out of Yugi. His hands held on tightly to the leather straps that were wrapped underneath him to support him above the floor, wishing there was something to make everything end.  
  
The man almost collapsed on top of Yugi when he released, but thankfully had more strength than the teen had originally thought as he did stay standing, just barely. The man, upon opening his grey bluish eyes, gave Yugi a curious look before hurrying over to the toy chest and rummaging around in it before pulling out one of the large dildos, one that looked to be about his size.  
  
He gave Yugi another scrutinizing look, sending sheets of fear that felt almost like pure ice through the teen. James hurried over again and shoved into Yugi's abused channel, causing Yugi to finally lose his control and scream out.  
  
Memories, one by one, tore across Yugi's vision. Everything in his past raced by his eyes and he screamed even louder, begging anything that was listening to end his torture. It was all he could do until he blacked out completely.  
  
The next thing Yugi realized as he slowly came to was that he was in his bedroom. 'Was that all a really bad dream?' He couldn't help but think, 'Then what about that guy? Yami?'  
  
He glanced over at his door, that was slightly cracked open, and voices could be heard discussing something just outside. Yugi pushed the sheets off him and very slowly go off the best. He was still naked, but, looking down, he could see the effects of the aphrodisiac had worn off, probably some time ago. Not worrying about that though, he moved as quickly as his abused body would allowed him to until he was at his door.  
  
"...give all your prostitutes here aphrodisiacs than, Mr. Ishtar," Mr. Brown's voice accused angrily.  
  
"No, sir, you must understand that Yugi has a very special case. That is why I gave it to him. If I hadn't you wouldn't have gotten very much pleasure from him," Marik tried to explain.  
  
Yugi felt terrible. He was causing all this trouble just because of his stupid past. 'Can't I do anything right?!'  
  
Mr. Brown spoke up again after a while, "Then what is his case and I'll decide if it's worthy enough for something so drastic in action. Furthermore, why wasn't I informed of such a thing in the first place? If I had known he was going to act like that than I wouldn't have been so rough with him."  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Brown, but Yugi has trust in me and I will no betray something I deem very precious. It's something he prefers to forget and it's in the past. I did, however, try to change your mind, but you were far to into Yugi already that you probably weren't paying any attention to what I was trying to inform you that would've have given you a much great deal more pleasure than I'm sure you had tonight."  
  
"Very well then. Good night to you, Mr. Ishtar, you won't be hearing from me again." Footsteps then echoed down the hall until the sound of the front door slammed shut.  
  
"Fine, jack ass!"  
  
Yugi shook his head and pushed door open enough to get his head through. "I'm sorry, Marik," he whispered in a hoarse voice, probably from how much he screamed, "I failed you."  
  
Marik was stunned, but he quickly shook his head, "No, Yugi, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should've tried harder to get his mind off you after I realized what he planned on doing to you."  
  
"Whatever, it doesn't matter very much," Yugi chuckled slightly, "Just as long as I won't have to go through that again."  
  
"Of course, never."  
  
"Oh, and by the way, thanks for helping."  
  
"Anytime, Yugi."  
  
"So, what happened? After I blacked out?"  
  
"Well, I heard him yelling about some strange thing or another, and then he stormed into my office demanding an explanation for 'all this nonsense,' as he put it, after telling me what had happened to you. I carried you from there to your room where you could rest. I apologize that I wasn't able to get him away from your room before he could start yelling, though."  
  
"No, that's okay."  
  
"Why don't you go take something and then get some rest? You have your day off tomorrow and I'll be sure to pay much more closer attention to your schedule as well."  
  
"Alright, thanks, Marik."  
  
The violet eyed man smiled and nodded at him before hurrying off down the hall, looking important. Yugi just smirked and thought, 'Probably off to see Malik. By the way he hurried over there though I'm sure Malik's worried about me. Marik only ever acts like that when it concerns Malik and something troubling him.'  
  
Yugi closed the door and moved slowly over to his bed. He lied down gratefully, settling on his stomach and gave a great sigh of relief. He then reached over to his ruddy old side table where a small brown bag was sitting.  
  
'Marik must've brought this in here while I was out of it. I never put it in here.'  
  
He took out the two bags and looked at each before deciding on the PM one to help him sleep.  
  
'I'm sure I'm gonna need it tonight.'  
  
It wasn't long before Yugi went into a deep sleep.  
  
Sorry about it not getting up right away. First, I got another story kicked off ff.net for some stupid reasons that had nothing to do with my story so I got banned from posting anything up for a week. And then I couldn't find out I wanted this chapter to go. I still wasn't expecting this much though. I didn't take the small lime out of it though because I honestly don't think it's all that bad for me to get into trouble with it, but hey, if the story isn't here when you want to come see it, than you'll know I probably got kicked off again. 


	3. A Day at the Fair

Violet eyes opened wearily as one pale reached out blindly for the side table. He touched smooth plastic and Yugi glanced over to see the regular Tylenol bottle. He popped it open and tipped out two pills, swallowing them dryly.  
  
Yugi then pushed the covers off him after a few minutes and sat up, pausing to wait for the painful throbbing in his lower back to lessen, and then stood up. He pulled on his ragged clothes and, out of pure habit, applied some light make-up. Deciding he was ready to face the world he headed out.  
  
'I wonder if that guy's gonna be at the park,' Yugi thought before pausing mid-step and wondered, 'Why the hell does that guy keep invading my thoughts?' Shaking it off, he headed for the door, and, unconsciously, for the park.  
  
When he arrived at the park he was surprised to see that barely anyone was in there, but that one person in particular that was standing one of the swings gliding back forth caught his eyes.  
  
He must've been noticed too because the teen jumped off the swing and ran up to him, crimson eyes glinting in the pale sunlight of the morning.  
  
"Hey there! Yugi, right," he asked, barely giving the teen time to nod. "How did your night go," he then questioned slyly, as if he knew it had gone really well.  
  
Yugi looked quickly at the ground, "Not so good," he admitted quietly. He could just feel the surprise come off Yami.  
  
"What do you mean," he asked in disbelief, "It was sex! I had to have gone good!"  
  
The teen was slightly angered about Yami's response, but it was his day off and he didn't want anything to ruin it so he just ignored it. "I don't feel like talking about it. All I feel is that I let my boss down, I didn't get paid a cent, and my back is killing me," he mumbled out, shame flowing over the violet-eyed teen as the memories took over him.  
  
Yugi looked Yugi over curiously for a moment. He wasn't sure why, but the teen somehow intrigued him. He never felt this way about anybody he met before, especially when he barely knew him. He only ever had one person he loved... but that person is gone and wasn't ever coming back. But Yugi... Yugi had such an air of innocence surrounding him, and yet his 'profession' proved otherwise. He was actually worried about him, but for reason he couldn't figure it out.  
  
The violet-eyed teen stared peculiarly at his slightly taller companion. He couldn't sworn he saw something in the other's red eyes, but what? It seemed so foreign to him and, yet, he felt like he should know it somehow.  
  
"Hey, come with me," he gestured heading out of the park, not offering anything else and expecting Yugi to followed him.  
  
Yugi didn't know what he should do though. He only just met Yami and didn't know if he could really trust him or not. Parents usually told their children not to trust strangers, right?  
  
'But what about that flicker I saw in his eyes just a few seconds ago,' he questions himself. Deciding he could always back out later, he ran to catch up with the red-eyed teen.  
  
"Where are we going, Yami," he asked after getting in step with him.  
  
"Somewhere I think you'll be able forget all your worries for the day and have some fun at the same time," he replied without looking down at the slightly shorter teen.  
  
Yugi was curious about it, but opted not to press the issue. Yami didn't seem like the type of guy to answer straightly, at least not in this type of situation anyway; at least not to Yugi he didn't. So the violet-eyed teen walked silently next to Yami and wait patiently until they reached wherever the older teen was bringing him.  
  
It was only complete silence for a short while though, Yugi didn't keep track on how long exactly. They had just turned a corner around some old, beat down building when bright lights and energetic music met him head on.  
  
Yugi's vibrant eyes widened as he looked on in surprise. "A-a carnival," he squeaked out in disbelief.  
  
Yami looked down at him and nodded, a knowing grin on his face, "If this doesn't cheer you up, even just a little bit, than I'm definitely losing my touch."  
  
"But I don't have any money with me," Yugi admitted sadly, feeling bad for ruining Yami's attempt at making him feel better.  
  
"Well, I don't either, silly," Yami laughed, clapping him on the back and ruffling up his hair, "but you don't see me walking away, do you?"  
  
Yugi looked down, "Well, no, but..." Realization struck on him then, "We aren't gonna...gonna..." He was interrupted by Yami bursting out into laughter. "It's not funny," he shouted, "I may be a...a...a you know what, but that doesn't mean I'll sneak in to anyplace!"  
  
Yami was laughing so hard by then and was holding onto his sides tightly, small tears tracking down his cheeks. After a few minutes though, he finally started to calm down. "I-I'm sorry, Yugi," he wheezed out, "I j- just couldn't help myself." He breathed deeply to catch his breath before continuing, "I know somebody who works here and he can get us in for free as long as I pay him back later."  
  
"How are you going to do that," Yugi asked as they started walking again, heading around to the back of the fair, "You're not going to pay my way, are you?"  
  
"No worries, Yugi," Yami smirked down at him. "I work at a restaurant," he explained, "my bud sometimes has a hard time getting money when the fair isn't open so I bring him something from the restaurant and he pays me back by getting me in for free. It's vice versa for when I want to have some fun and don't have money, I give him a free meal."  
  
Yugi nodded and followed as Yami peaked into one of the tents and gestured him in.  
  
"Hey, Bakura," Yami laughed as he wrapped his arms around a white-haired teen's neck. The teen yelped out in surprise though and fell out of the chair, staring up at Yami in fear. "Wait a minute," he started in surprise, "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"Ryou," Yugi gasped. He knelt down on the floor and smiled at his friend.  
  
"Yugi," the teen gasped, "What are you doing here?"  
  
Just then, somebody who looked exactly like Ryou ran into the tent and gasped out, "What's going on in here, Ryou?"  
  
Out of nowhere, Yami started laughing and he collapsed into the chair Ryou had fallen out of.  
  
"Yami," the second white-haired teen questions, giving him a look that clearly showed he thought the red-eyed teen was insane at this point.  
  
"This is turning out to be a very interesting day already," Yugi sighed. He turned back to Ryou questioningly, "So what are you doing here?"  
  
"Bakura invited me since I don't have any customers until really late. What about you?"  
  
"I have the day off and Yami was trying to cheer me up from last night," Yugi admitted sadly, trying to erase the memories that started swimming back at him.  
  
"Oh! That's right; I heard about that. How do you feel," Ryou asked with concern pooling from his eyes, rubbing his back in a comforting manner.  
  
"A little soar, but otherwise good."  
  
By then, Yami had finally calmed down after a good smack on the head from Bakura. Now he was just holding onto the spot he was hit on and glaring evilly at his friend. He noticed the two on the ground and smirked. "So you're both from the same prostitute house," both nodded, "That's awesome!"  
  
Ryou, much the same as Yugi had when first subjected to it, gave Yami a look of disbelief, shaking his head when he saw he was serious. "You're a very strange person," he concluded after a moment of silence.  
  
"Anyway, Bakura," he turned to the second white-haired teen, "I'm here to do some cheering up. Hungry tonight?"  
  
"For your cooking, always. And," he glanced at Yugi, "since you're bringing a friend with you this time that means I get to as well."  
  
"Fine, fine, have it your way then. I'll see you tonight," he grabbed Yugi out and dragged him into the fair.  
  
"So you know that pretty guy," Yami questioned as they started walking towards one of the rides.  
  
"Yes, he's a friend of mine. We work in the same place, but lately he's been getting out during the day. It was a bit surprising at first, but then I got used to not hanging out with anymore. I guess this explains where he's been going all this time," Yugi laughed.  
  
"Tell me about," Yami shouted, making people look at him strangely, not that he cared, "Bakura's been acting funny lately too. Did you see the way they were staring at each other? Gross!"  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yes," he interrupted with a shout, "Those two, disgusting. Love is not an emotion I will ever believe in."  
  
"So you don't like it because they love each other?"  
  
"There's no such thing as love."  
  
Yugi stood stock still at the confession. He just couldn't believe it. Letting his defenses down though, memories from last night and even further into his past invaded him and it was all he could not to collapse from it. He shook them away and watched Yami as he moved further up the line when it started moving. The red-eyed teen looked back at him just as Yugi finally relaxed.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Yugi shook his head, "It's nothing." He moved up with him and watched as the ride started up again. "You know," he started, "I think you're right."  
  
"Well, of course I am," Yami laughed. Then he paused and looked down at Yugi, "About what?" Yugi giggled at him before hurrying forward to take the far end up the seat for ride. Yami hurried after him before the ride operators closed and locked the door.  
  
"Hey, tell me what you meant," Yami pushed, making sure his baggy pants didn't get caught in the door as the operators slammed it closed.  
  
"About what you said about love; I believe you. I feel the same way about it."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"You seem surprised, did you expect me to disagree?"  
  
"Well, I don't know," Yami threw his hands up, but smiled at the younger to show he was only joking around, "Let's see what this ride can do?"  
  
Yugi laughed and nodded, the ride having perfect timing as it started to speed up.  
  
After the ride ended both teens had to lean against a railing for a while to make their vision stop coming in threes. Once it cleared they both laughed as they headed for another.  
  
"That was awesome," Yugi shouted, his eyes glowing with excitement.  
  
Yami smiled at him as the younger ran to get a place in line. He couldn't help but stop and examine the teen from a distance. 'He's very different from what I first expected him to be,' Yami concluded.  
  
Yugi finally looked over at him and waved, "Come on, Yami! The line's gonna start moving!"  
  
The red-eyed teen waved back to show he heard before moving forward. He was forced to abruptly stop though when a large group of people walked in front him, obstructing his view of his violet-eyed companion. A feeling of dread came over him and he couldn't understand it. 'One second I don't see him and I start worrying? What's wrong with me,' He thought as the he finally caught sight of the other, freezing however when he saw the way the teen was standing, 'What the...'  
  
Yami hurried over and saw Yugi was staring at a much taller man than either of them. The man was walking towards Yugi with a dangerous sneer on his face. Once he was close enough he reached out one large hand and grabbed Yugi's shoulder, causing the youth to flinch in pain and start shivering wildly, uncontrollable tears coursing quickly down his pale, pink-tinted cheeks.  
  
Bearing his teeth just slightly and unconsciously thinking, 'How could anybody be so cruel to let somebody as innocent seeming as Yugi do this to him and not try and help him?' Not wanting to put Yugi through whatever was going through his head continued, the crimson-eyed teen ran over and shoved the man away from Yugi, shielding the younger with his own body.  
  
"What do you think you're doing to Yugi, you bastard," He growled.  
  
Yugi, obviously grateful for Yami's strong presence, scooted closer to him and rested his head on his back, closing his eyes in apparent relief.  
  
Yami looked back at him and his eyes softened slightly before glaring back at the older man. "Well," he snarled, "Answer me! Or leave!"  
  
To Yami's surprise, the man started to actually chuckle at him, "What the hell is so funny?"  
  
"I see the little slut found a lover," was the man's response.  
  
"What," Yami shouted, before quickly shaking his head. "No way, he's just a friend. I'm trying to cheer him up from what some bastard..."  
  
"Yami," Yugi shouted interrupting him.  
  
"What?"  
  
The crimson-eyed teen hadn't the need the finish the statement for the man to figure out what he was going to say. "So, our play time roughed you up that much, did it, little Yugi?"  
  
"Mr. Brown, please, you don't have to rub it in my face. I know what I did was inexcusable but it's bad enough with the guilt," Yugi cried, looking at the man with fear pooling in his eyes.  
  
"What," Yami shouted, turning back to the man. "You mean it was you?!"  
  
The man sniggered once more before nodding. "Of course, why wouldn't it be," he said as if it were the most palpable thing in the world.  
  
"Why you..." Yami made to lunge for the man, not knowing why he felt so protective for somebody he's barely known for a day, but wanting to anyway. Yugi grabbed onto his arm and held him tightly, tears streaking down his face as he quickly shook his head.  
  
"Please, Yami! Please, don't hurt him," he cried loudly, people crowding around him to witness the scene. He clenched his eyes tightly, wishing they would just go away.  
  
"Fine," Yami rumbled at last, turning to head for the tent Bakura and Ryou were located, Yugi being dragged as he held tightly onto his arm.  
  
He stormed into the tent and stopped, smirking lightly at the scene before he caught himself and a sneer came over his face.  
  
"If you two would kindly stop making out for a second!"  
  
The two easily jumped apart, Ryou landing once more on the floor with a rather dark blush covering his face at rapid speed.  
  
"That's better," Yami looked directly at Bakura, "we'll be leaving sooner than intended today. But don't worry, you'll still get a good meal tonight, same as always."  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it," Bakura nodded. "Mind if I ask what happened?"  
  
"Some guy started pestering Yugi so I wanted to get him out of here. We'll just go do something else."  
  
Bakura nodded in understanding, "Hope you had some fun at least."  
  
"Some," Yami nodded, smiling lightly at him before hurrying out, Yugi following after him after saying a quick goodbye to Ryou and a thank you and nice to meet you to Bakura.  
  
Yugi ran after Yami and walked side by side with him, losing breath quickly trying to keep up with the older's rapid pace.  
  
"Yugi," Yami finally said as he slowed down at last.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why were you sticking up for him?"  
  
Yugi quickly looked down, anywhere but at Yami. "I-I don't know," he stuttered at last, "I guess I didn't want to cause a scene."  
  
"I could've pummeled him for you."  
  
"I have no doubts that you could've, but I can't stand somebody getting hurt because of me, even if the guy getting hurt happens to be a jerk."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
There was silence for a minute.  
  
"There's something else, too."  
  
"What," Yugi asked, finally looking up at him.  
  
"Why won't you say what you are?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Earlier when you told me you wouldn't sneak into the carnival even if you are a prostitute. You wouldn't say it; how come?"  
  
"Oh," a blush came to the youth's cheeks. "It makes me feel so dirty when I saw it, even though it's true. Marik, my boss, and all my friends said I shouldn't feel that way, but I can't help it. I'd leave if given the chance. I'd miss all my friends there, yes, but it isn't as easy as some people might think it is to leave."  
  
Yami looked at Yugi with sadness, the younger teen continuing to walk on, seemingly not noticing that the red-eyed older wasn't any longer walking with him.  
  
He stopped at last a couple blocks down and looked around in surprise. He turned around and saw Yami running up to him.  
  
"Sorry, you must think I'm such a child for thinking all this. I know teenagers usually like this sort of thing, but I can't stand it," tears appeared in his dulled eyes once more.  
  
Yami wiped them away and offered a small smile. "Hey, Yugi, let's go to the ice-rink?"  
  
Yugi looked at him in surprise before smiling lightly back at him and nodded. 


	4. Story of Our Life

Sorry about it being out so late. It's a bit longer than the other chapters so it took me a little longer. I've tried working on it in school too, but it's hard to do that and take fast notes at the same time . Sorry.  
  
"...and then we went to the ice rink. I can almost stay up on my own too," Yugi finished just as excitedly as when he started, pulling on a tight maroon vest over his head as he was finishing.  
  
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun today, Yugi," Malik smiled, "but that doesn't tell me why you need to borrow my clothes."  
  
The amethyst eyes teen pulled some black jeans off a hanger in Malik's closet, slipping them on as he replied, "As we were walking back to the park Yami invited me for dinner tonight. I don't have any nice clothes to where like you do." He looked back at his friend with some akin to fear sparkling in the depths of his eyes (which surprised Malik greatly), "You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"No, no, of course not, Yugi," Malik exclaimed, jumping off his bed and gathering his best friend in a hug. "You know I don't mind you borrowing my stuff. I'll tell you what, once you get a good pay, I promise I'll help you find some good clothes," He laughed, motioning at the legs of the pants that were bunching up on the floor and hiding Yugi's feet completely.  
  
Yugi rolled up the legs and used pins that Malik handed to him to hold them up. He looked back up at his friend; "You'd really do that for me?"  
  
"Yup, no worries," Malik said as he went back to his bed again and pulled out a small, worn out brown paper bag, "Come here, I'll help make you a knock out."  
  
Yugi smiled, pulling on his own shoes since he knew Malik's would be too big on him, and bounced over to the bed, sitting between Malik's legs, facing him.  
  
Just as Malik was finishing the few touched of eyeliner, there was a quiet knock on the door. After a second the wood creaked open and a teen with long white hair peeked in.  
  
"Ryou," Malik accidentally shouted, completely surprised. "Come in, come in! I heard about where you've been heading off to at last! So, having fun without telling anyone?"  
  
A small blush came over the albino's cheeks and he look down at the cracked wood floor. "Yes, well, I wish I could say I was here on a social call, but I'm afraid not. Actually," he looked at Yugi, "I was looking for you. Can we talk?"  
  
"Me," Yugi asked in wonder, "Err...okay. Malik, are you done?"  
  
"Yup, have fun."  
  
Yugi nodded and hopped off the bed, hurrying after Ryou down the hall.  
  
"I guess I just wanted to apologize," the white-haired teen started suddenly, disturbing the slightly uncomfortable silence between the two friends.  
  
'Can we still be considered friends even though it seems like we haven't spent any time together in ages,' Yugi wondered absently. Ryou's words suddenly caught up to him and he looked up at the teen. "Ryou," he stuttered, "I-I don't understand." The words kept repeating themselves and he couldn't find any reason for Ryou to have to apologize for anything. He berated himself for stuttering though, 'Moron, you don't have anything to be scared about. This is Ryou! You're friend! Yes! A friend still, I refuse to think this could be the end.'  
  
"For not being around as much. I wasn't being a very good friend at all. I should've been there for you like Malik was."  
  
"For..." Yugi was confused, 'He can't be talking about...'  
  
"About last night."  
  
Yugi's eyes widened in shock, "How do you know about that?"  
  
"It was the first thing I heard when I got here a few minutes ago. That creep Rex and Four-Eyes Weevil were laughing about it with some other guys."  
  
"Oh," Yugi looked down sadly, "It-it wasn't that bad."  
  
"Never mind that," Ryou argued, "I still should've been there." He paused before continuing on, the subject dramatically changed, "I met Bakura a while ago and he helped me out, showed me good times when I thought everything bad would come my way because of what I turned to."  
  
"I was wondering how you came back from that depression so quickly. Malik and I were worried about you," Yugi smiled gently up at him, mostly to show him there weren't any hard feelings.  
  
"He's amazing," Ryou explained excitedly, "I never thought we'd end up together though. I've never been so happy, Yugi. It's like everyday is like the first day we met and he makes me fall in love with him all over again."  
  
1. "There's no such thing as love." –  
  
Yugi froze for a small second as the simple phrase Yami had said to him just that day flashed across his eyes. He tried shaking it off though. 'I don't want anything to interfere with my time with Ryou. I've barely seen him for a really long time and I've missed him.'  
  
As soon as he finished that though, another zoomed in front of him; this time his own words he remembered:  
  
– "About what you said about love; I believe you. I feel the same way about it." –  
  
Yugi bit his lip, thinking pain could get rid of the words he himself had uttered. He wouldn't do a single thing to ruin Ryou's happiness, but then one thought came to mind. "Ryou, what about Bakura," he asked curiously, "with you being a... a... well, this," he gestured around the halls.  
  
Ryou looked out a dusty window as he passed it, "He doesn't like it at all, but he understands I owe Marik and other people a lot of money and this is the quickest way to pay it off. We argue about it every now and then, but he only does it because he worries. He made me promise to tell him all my appointments and he knows all my regulars too. Whenever I have a hard night and am too sore to move, he even comes to visit me."  
  
"That's sounds so cool, Ryou. I'm so happy for you." That inkling of guilt fought Yugi as he fought with his conscience. 'How can to three stupid sentences affect me this much?!'  
  
Ryou smiled and nodded his thanks. They stopped in front of the albino's door and said teen put his hand on the knob. "By the way, Yugi," he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling, "you look good."  
  
Yugi blushed and looked down at the dusty carpet that was laid on the floor haphazardly, his shoes playing the loose strings as he mumbled his thanks.  
  
Ryou opened his door and slipped into the darkness of it, barely even opening his door enough for him to get in. Yugi found the action curious, but looking out the dusty window Ryou had glanced out at he found the sky darkening and he forgot the act completely.  
  
He walked silently down the hall towards the front door, inwardly giddy that he was having such a good day, especially so about being with Ryou again. He'd been worried that the albino was drifting away from him for good.  
  
He was just about to step outside when a voice stopped him. He turned and was surprised to see Marik running towards him.  
  
"Phew," the spiky-haired man gasped, "I was afraid you had already left when Malik said you were going out soon."  
  
"What's up, Marik?"  
  
"I just wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
"I'm fine; today's really helping me out."  
  
"That's great, Yugi. I'm really happy for you."  
  
The words struck a nerve since Yugi remembered only a minute earlier he had said them in half lie. He curiously wondered if Marik really meant it or merely did the same thing Yugi himself had.  
  
"Marik, what did you do? You've got that look on you face," Yugi questioned suspiciously.  
  
"I have some appointments..."  
  
"Not for tonight," The amethyst eyed teen shouted worriedly.  
  
"No! no, of course not, Yugi. I've put them on hold though in case you weren't feeling well enough for it. I made sure only regulars though," He pulled out a piece of paper and looked at, "Pegasus," Yugi cringed, "Espa Roba," Yugi felt a small sense of relief," and Duke," Yugi immediately looked up.  
  
"Duke?! Duke Devlin?!"  
  
Marik nodded, pocketing the small paper.  
  
"I'll do it! I haven't see him in ages! No since ht told me he sent off his new game to that company: Industrial Illusions, I think is what he told me."  
  
"I was surprised to hear him on the phone as well. What of the other two?"  
  
Yugi thought for a while before reluctantly nodding, "A small price to pay for Duke, I suppose."  
  
"Alright, I'll go call them back and say it's a go," he nodded goodbye and walked down the hall, albeit looking much more relaxed than when Yugi first saw him running up to him.  
  
Yugi turned and opened the door, stepping out into the cool evening air.  
  
"Did you tell him what we discussed, Ryou," a husky voice asked from the bed.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry, Bakura. He thinks we're going out, just like you want people to think."  
  
"Good, I didn't want to have to punish you. You know my boss doesn't approve of me coming here even though he does," the taller albino smirked.  
  
"Whatever," the younger glared.  
  
"And by the way," a sharp smack sounded throughout the quiet room, leaving Ryou wincing as he held onto his pulsing red cheek, "That was for earlier."  
  
"What? For when Yugi showed up? I didn't know he was going to be there," Ryou shouted, arguing back.  
  
"You're lucky I don't punish you for that big mouth you seem to being using a bit today. Arguing with me like that! As it is, I can't or it won't be unnoticed by that little twerp friend of yours tonight. You're lucky he's going to be at the restaurant as well, otherwise I wouldn't bother being this careful."  
  
"You don't care about other people seeing, but you care about my friends. Afraid that you're going to be reported?"  
  
"You're pushing you luck, Ryou," Bakura growled, his temper rising.  
  
"Do you think I care?"  
  
Another, louder growl echoed throughout the room before a loud thump resounded from Ryou falling on the rough carpet, Bakura on top of him. "I said I wouldn't be able to punish you, but you are a whore. Why not make you useful?!"  
  
The younger white-haired teen's calls were silence as a sock was shoved forcefully into his mouth, his hands trapped underneath his own back.  
  
"Well, hello there, stranger," a deep voice said from the shadow of a trunk of a dying oak tree.  
  
The amethyst-eyed teen looked up at the voice and squinted to get a better look. He was surprised when Yami stepped into the little light of daylight that was left and smiled softly at him. "Hey, Yami. I thought we were going to meet up at the park again?"  
  
"Yeah, I know, but I was bored so I decided to come and wait for you. It looks like a pretty rundown place if you ask me. Do people really come here and do you go to them after making an appointment or something," Yami questioned as they started walking down the sidewalk.  
  
"It's only like that because of Marik. He's run into the cops before and he didn't want the business ruined because of them like the last time he opened of something. He doesn't want to let the people who work here down because most of them are really doing this because they've got nowhere else to turn to," Yugi explained.  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"It's no big deal," Yugi said, his voice suddenly quiet.  
  
"I wanna know."  
  
"Well, I don't want to talk about it," Yugi shouted.  
  
Yami held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry; sheesh. No big deal, then, you got it."  
  
"Sorry," Yugi quickly looked away.  
  
"Nah, I should've just let it alone. You would've told me if you wanted me to know."  
  
Yugi nodded and the rest of the walk was quiet until they reached the busier half of town.  
  
"What are we doing here," Yugi asked, looking around in awe. He'd rarely ever been to this side of town, maybe once or twice, but both were during the day. At night, the place looked amazing with the different lights and signs brightening the entire area up. It was a wonderful contrast to the night sky above and Yugi didn't think he could get enough of it. To him, the sight was breathtaking.  
  
"The restaurant I work at is here, just around that corner by the street light," Yami pointed out.  
  
"Oh! That's right, we forgot Ryou and Bakura!"  
  
Yami laughed and shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Bakura knows how to get there since he's been there so many times. Knowing him, he'll probably be picking up Ryou at that whorehouse and meet us at the restaurant in about half an hour."  
  
Yugi didn't say anything, only nodded. "So, Bakura must like eating with people he brings with him," he looked at the cracked pavement sadly. He'd been looking forward to spending the evening with Ryou as well as Yami and maybe even getting to know Bakura.  
  
"No," Yami answered, making the teen look up suddenly. "I just wanted to hang out with you, I guess," Yami shrugged, "You're a cool person to talk to. We are friends, aren't we, Yugi?"  
  
"Well, yeah, of course," Yugi said hurriedly, worried that Yami had gotten the wrong idea. Thinking that, the violet-eyed teen quickly explained, "It's just that I haven't actually spent any time with Ryou at all and I've really been missing his company. I was hoping that I could catch up with him tonight, but then you said you'd meet them up later and I just figured that you were going to make me eat an run."  
  
Yami then started laughing, muffled at first behind his hand, before he completely lost it. Yugi couldn't help but stare at him in wonder, completely not understanding what was so funny about what he said. His hair was then ruffled playfully and he glared at Yami even though the older wasn't paying attention to it.  
  
"You sure are a funny one, Yugi," he said as he wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye, "As good as a chef as I'm claimed to be, I don't really like cooking all that much. I'm not going to bother cooking four different meals at different times if I can help it."  
  
Yugi looked down, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry," he mumbled.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about. You probably thought I was just some bum the way you kept seeing me hang out at the park and then get into carnivals using one of my friends."  
  
"Well, that didn't cross my mind, but now that you mentioned it, that would make some sense."  
  
"Bookworm," Yami smirked.  
  
"What," Yugi looked up, startled at the sudden comment.  
  
"That's what you remind me of: a bookworm."  
  
"How do I do that," Yugi questioned, still not getting it.  
  
"The way you just said how it didn't cross your mind, but when I mentioned it that it would make sense. Just the way you said it reminded me of a bookworm."  
  
Yugi shook his head and looked around, spotting a sign that said 'Public Library' in a neon red sign. He sighed, "To be honest, I haven't so much as picked up a book in years. I sort of miss losing myself in the different worlds, but there hasn't been much time for it."  
  
"Well, that just sucks, I guess. I don't care much for reading. In school, my teachers would always fail me just because I didn't read their stupid books they told me were required for me to pass. So, I finally dropped out. My dad didn't care, he just said it was easier to save money without having to pay for me to go to school. He was just glad that I didn't want to be a lawyer or a doctor, something expensive like that to pay through for."  
  
He stopped talking while he opened the backdoor to the restaurant using a key from his pocket. He let Yugi walk in and they both got comfortable at a table before he started up again.  
  
"After a few months though I got bored with my time and needed something to do for the day. I was so used to at least doing something going to school for most of the day. So I went out and wandered around. Well, that got boring for a while too and finally I noticed all the help wanted signs around me."  
  
"Why a restaurant, then," Yugi asked, genuinely curious.  
  
"It wouldn't have been my first pick, but my dad was always nagging about prices being so high for food and since I get free meals working here it was the best choice. Plus, I didn't need a good education to get it. I've been here ever since."  
  
"So are you like the manager or something?"  
  
"Nope, I don't really care. As long as I get a paycheck and my free meals than I'll be here."  
  
"So there wasn't anything you wanted to be if you did get through school?"  
  
Yami smirked and pulled out a cigarette, opening a small window by the door for the smoke to get through. "Not really. The only thing I can really count on are my looks and my stamina." He lit up his cigarette and took a long drag, breathing it out towards the window.  
  
Yugi snorted and looked away, "It isn't everyone's dream to do what I do. Do you think I woke up one morning and said, 'hey, I wanna go and have people pay for my body'?"  
  
"I guess not, but, like I said, those are the only things I count on. That and my newly found skill of flipping burgers without burning myself now."  
  
The younger shook his head, which earned him a glare from Yami.  
  
"I'd like to see you try doing it without hurting yourself. You should've seen some of the marks I left with at night. None of which were very pretty. I refused to wear anything but a long sleeve shirt and pants to work until all of them were gone, even if I got stifling hot wearing it."  
  
At that moment a knock rapped on the door.  
  
"That would be Bakura with your friend," Yami mumbled as he pushed off the counter and put out the cigarette. He opened the door and let the two albinos in.  
  
"I thought you said you were gonna quit smoking that junk, Yami," Bakura smirked as he closed the door behind him.  
  
"I am... when I run out."  
  
"Did you know you say that every time you get a new pack?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Bakura rolled his eyes.  
  
"So what do you want for dinner," Yami asked.  
  
"Dinner was great as always, Yami," Bakura waved, dragging Ryou along.  
  
After they left, Yugi glanced at Yami. "He was limping," he noted.  
  
"Hmm," Yami looked up from the dishes.  
  
"Ryou, he was limping. Must've had a hard customer before he came here."  
  
Yami shrugged and went back to the dishes, thinking it was be a 'prostitute's intellect', or something like that.  
  
Silence fell between them, both being a bit tired from the day's events. It wasn't until they were a few minutes from Yugi's place did the quiet break.  
  
"I ran away," Yugi suddenly whispered.  
  
Yami looked down at him, confused, "What?"  
  
"You asked how I ended up at this place. I ran away from home. Everything was messed up. My sister was murdered by her boyfriend who was a drunk, my mom was never home and when she was she was sticking herself with needles to get high, and my dad was a druggie addict who drank nothing but beer. Plus, my parents were always fighting. I hated how my life was. Finally, when they said they were getting divorced I couldn't take it. That night I packed some of my stuff up, grabbed all my cash, and got as far away from there as I possible could."  
  
"Sounds like neither us had very good lives."  
  
"I guess not." 


	5. Memories Told

Yugi awoke early the next morning feeling surprisingly well rested and eager to fact the new day. He didn't understand it at first, but then he glanced at his calendar and his face lit up. He'd wrote down on it before he went to sleep about his three appointments. Duke's name in much brighter colors than Pegasus' or Espa's.  
  
He jumped out of bed and, not bothering to change out of his usual sleeping attire of boxers and a baggy shirt, hurrying out of his room and down the hall, almost knowing people down as he did. He was about to knock on Malik's door when Joey stopped him.  
  
"You just missed him, Yugi," the honey-eyed teen said. "He left a few minutes ago and was heading for Marik's office."  
  
"Thanks, Joey," Yugi breathed before running past him.  
  
He sped as fast as he could to the end of the hall and around the corner. In his haste though, he forgot to knock and, instead, threw the door open. He opened his mouth and his words caught in his throat as he took in the scene.  
  
Most of the accessories on Marik's desk were scattered haphazardly on the floor around it. Malik laid shirtless, spread eagle on it instead with Marik kneeling between his legs, a crumbled shirt in his hand; both were staring at him with shock written over their faces.  
  
"Uh...Uh...I uh..." Yugi's stuttering seemed endless. He couldn't understand it.  
  
'You'd think this stuff wouldn't bother me after being what I am for so many years,' He thought hopelessly.  
  
"Yugi," Marik started at last, his face calmed, though the amethyst-eyed teen thought him to be furious with him. "Was there something you needed," the question tore Yugi from his fearful thoughts.  
  
"I was...uh...Ma-Malik," he finally got out.  
  
The older sighed and got off his lover, gesturing for him to go. Malik reluctantly did so, wanting to know what happened to Yugi to make him barge in, but also not wanting to leave Marik.  
  
Once the office door closed behind him, Malik turned to his best friend, worried slightly at his slight form as the younger looked profusely at the floor.  
  
"Yugi, what's wrong," he asked, concerned.  
  
The younger shook his head and finally looked up at Malik. "It's nothing; I'm sorry for disturbing you and Marik. See you later," he turned and walked away down the hall.  
  
Both the action and the words shocked Malik greatly. Slowly, he turned and went back inside.  
  
"No, I'm afraid he's already got a few appointments tonight," Marik said into the phone.  
  
There was a pause before Marik spoke again.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I can't just add you on like that. If you weren't a new customer I might be able to do something for you, but Yugi was recently traumatized over a new customer and I won't have it happen again, especially so soon afterwards."  
  
Malik could hear somebody yelling something before the line went dead. "What was that about," he asked, wondering how Yugi was brought into it.  
  
Marik rubbed his eyes as he threw Malik's shirt over to him. "Some new customer learned of our young Yugi's talents and was practically demanding him for tonight."  
  
"It seems Yugi's quite popular with the new ones," Malik joked, trying to light the mood. Marik just gave him 'the look' as he sat down at his desk, patting his lap for Malik to come over.  
  
"What was wrong with him by the way?"  
  
"I don't know," Malik admitted, looking down, "He just apologized for interrupting and then left in a hurry."  
  
"You should go find him. I've got work to do anyway and it'll only get put off if you're here, love."  
  
"Yeah, okay," Malik once again reluctantly slid away from Marik and headed for the door.  
  
"Malik."  
  
The teen looked back.  
  
"Come back later, won't you?"  
  
Malik grinned at him before leaving the office, his mood a little better. He bumped intro Ryou on the way to Yugi's room.  
  
"Hey, Malik," Ryou greeted, albeit nervously.  
  
"Hey, Ryou," the other replied, not taking much notice of the tone, "Say, do you know if Yugi's in his room? There was a slight misunderstanding and he left."  
  
"Actually, you just missed him," the albino explained.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, he left just a few minutes ago. He said something about going shopping for clothes before his appointment tonight."  
  
"Appointments? Shopping?" Malik thought for a second before going back the way he came. He knocked on Marik's door, all the while thinking, 'What appointments could make Yugi want to get good clothes now?' On his thoughts he barely caught his lover's call to come in.  
  
"Malik," Marik said in shock, "I know I told you to come back later, but..."  
  
"Marik," the younger interrupted, "What appointments does Yugi have tonight?"  
  
"What? Why would you..."  
  
"Please, Marik."  
  
The older sighed, but shifted a few papers around before he found what he was looking for. "Mr. Pegasus..."  
  
'No,' Malik thought.  
  
"Espa Roba..."  
  
'Not him,' Malik decided again.  
  
"And Mr. Devlin."  
  
'Devlin,' Malik shouted mentally. "Duke Devlin?"  
  
"Do you know another Devlin?"  
  
"No, thank you, Marik," and with that, he fled hurriedly from the office. 'It makes sense now.'  
  
Duke Devlin, creator of the new upcoming game Dungeon Dice Monsters, had been extremely busy and everybody just assumed he wouldn't be coming around anymore no matter how much fun he was to hang around with. Yugi, having Duke as one of his regulars, and one of his few favored ones, was extremely upset over the fact of it, but he didn't let his feelings over the situation show. After all, it was common knowledge throughout the whorehouse as well as the entire prostitution world that you could have favorites among you customers, you didn't get emotionally attached to them; it was an unspoken rule among all prostitutes.  
  
Though that was the case, there were a few prostitutes who did become emotionally attached and only ended up getting hurt, and badly at that. Most of them almost turned out that way.  
  
Yugi was one of those few who did find feelings and they were towards Duke, although he never said anything, it was obvious to his best friend. He looked forward to every Wednesday since Duke always came on that day and, sometimes, he would give surprise visits on the weekends, mostly Sundays.  
  
Malik was certain Yugi's feelings towards Mr. Devlin hadn't disappeared; more like fade while Duke was gone. Now that his friend learned he was coming back his feelings must've come back and slapped him in the face. Malik wasn't dense either. He knew what his friend was going to try.  
  
Having that thought, he ran faster towards the shopping district. He was relieved when he saw a familiar head of spiky hair coming out of one of the stores.  
  
"Yugi," he grabbed the teen by the shoulder. What he wasn't expecting was to be thrown back and glared daggers at by red eyes. "I'm sorry," he said after his initial shock passed, "My mistake. I thought you were someone else."  
  
The person mumbled under his breath before walking away.  
  
"Jerk," Malik grumbled. His heart skipped a beat when a hand suddenly lay on his shoulder. He looked up and gasped, "Yugi?"  
  
"Hey, Malik," Yugi smiled.  
  
Malik spun around and looked down at his friend seriously. "Yugi," he started, "I know about Duke."  
  
That one sentence said everything to Yugi and he looked down at the cracked pavement.  
  
"I also know why you're out here." Malik knelt down so he was eye level with his violet-eyed mate. "Yugi, you might think you're fooling other people, but not me. I know you didn't mean to have feelings for Duke, but you do. Don't you?"  
  
Tears slipped past Yugi's eyes as he finished and they stained the pavement a slightly darker gray. "I can't help what I feel for him, Malik," he sobbed, clinging to his best friend as if for his life.  
  
Malik pat his back comfortingly, "I know, Yugi, I know."  
  
"I missed him so much when he stopped coming! He never ever said goodbye; it was like I really didn't mean anything to him! I was scared that I'd done something wrong! Or that he'd found out I liked him!"  
  
The bleach-blonde teen felt his heart go out to his crying friend. He knew what he was going through feeling wise. He had to admit that when he was falling for his identical looking boos that he was scared shitless and had even considered running away, but that was how he got on friendly terms with the CEO of Kaiba Corp.  
  
Seto Kaiba had caught him heading for the highway and brought his weary form to his mansion. There he had admitted everything shamefully to the icy- blue eyed man and, unlike what he was expecting with insults and disgust, Seto had held him while he cried his eyes out and comforted him.  
  
Afterwards, the CEO admitted that he too had feelings towards someone in the whorehouse, but he wasn't going to let something like that stop him from trying to love him and be with him. It was that confession that gave Malik his courage back.  
  
And how ironic it was to him that a few weeks later Marik stumbled into his room, drunk and already half-unconscious from it. Malik, worried, helped him and cared for him. AT three in the morning, Malik was startled awake to harsh kisses and the cool air against his suddenly bare skin. That night was the night he never fought so hard to hold back his tears and fight in from screaming.  
  
When the morning came, Marik was confused at first, but it didn't take him long to figure out what had transpired between him and his younger look-a- like. And, just like Malik had done for him, he took care of him.  
  
A week later, Marik came to him. It took him a while, but he finally admitted his feelings to him. Malik had been so happy that he had actually started crying. The older had misinterpreted it, but Malik gratefully, and with a large amount of relief, had also told his own feelings to the one he loved.  
  
Malik was brought back from his thoughts when Yugi finally pulled away from him, but wiping his eyes with embarrassment. Malik just smiled at him encouragingly.  
  
"Don't you worry, Yugi," he finally said. "I'll make you so irresistible to Duke that he'll recognize you even without recognizing you...er...if that makes sense. I'll make sure you're happy in the end of all this, that's a promise."  
  
Yugi offered him a watery smile back. Though he was thinking that what Malik was promising him was impossible, he appreciated the thought.  
  
"Now then, let's go shopping," Malik announced, heading for his favorite clothing store.  
  
By the end of the afternoon both boys were exhausted; exhausted, but satisfied with their successful day.  
  
Yugi had gotten a pair of leather pants (special for Duke), a few pairs of both tight and baggy jeans, some nice button-down shirts, and some new shoes to top it off, along with some new makeup since he was starting to run low.  
  
Arriving in Yugi's bedroom, both teens unceremoniously collapsed on the old, squeaky bed and just laid there with their eyes closed.  
  
"I'd say that was a very productive shopping trip," Malik announced tiredly.  
  
Yugi, too weary to answer verbally, just nodded.  
  
After a few minutes, Malik finally stood up and looked down at Yugi. "You should get ready for Pegasus."  
  
"Ah, yes, PIGasus, can't forget about that geezer."  
  
Malik smirked, almost laughing at the businessman's well-known nickname. "Still calling him that?"  
  
"Well, he is one! Besides, lots of people here still call him that."  
  
"True, just don't let him hear you call him that. He might be a geezer to you, but he's still a powerful man," Malik shook his head, still smirking. He turned to leave, paused at the door, and looked back at his friend still laying on the bed, "Be careful tonight, Yugi, will you?"  
  
To anyone else passing by, the question would've seemed a bit suspicious, as though Yugi were planning something, but to Yugi it didn't seem weird at all.  
  
"Don't worry, Malik. I'm always careful about these things."  
  
Malik smiled and left, closing the door behind him before looking sadly over his shoulder at the closed, termite-infested door, 'I know you were careful about these things, but how careful are you going to be when you see him again after so long?'  
  
Yugi lay on his bed, daydreaming about what would happen when Duke would get there (even though it was obvious if he made an appointment at the whorehouse) that Duke would stare at him dreamily and then sweep him off his feet, carrying him away into the unknown where nothing could ever go wrong again. He sighed, a small tear coming to his eye before he harshly wiped it about.  
  
'That's nothing short of pathetic, Yugi, and you know something like that could never be. There's no way Duke could find anything other than something of a friend if even that. I'm probably just a good fuck to him or something,' Yugi paused before a moment before he groaned in self- irritation, 'Great! Now I'm going to be thinking about whether or not Duke thinks I'm his friend the entire night. How can little things like this always get to me?!'  
  
He jumped off his bed at last, hoping a shower could clear his head. He grabbed his towel and headed out the door.  
  
Making sure the spray of water wasn't too hot or too cold, Yugi jumped in and immediately started to scrub himself down, making sure every last bit of grime was off him. Pegasus might not have been around for a while, but Yugi knew that the creepy, one-eyed businessman would start using his own personal toys on him if he was found dirty or unsatisfactory.  
  
'I'll have to remember to get the candles out for Espa too,' Yugi mentally noted.  
  
As he dried himself off, Yugi went through a mental checklist.  
  
'Let's see, I took a shower so I'd be clean for Pigasus, I'm getting the candles on the way back to my room for Espa, I'll need to pull those weird drape things he likes over my window and that sandalwood incense too. Am I missing anything?'  
  
He didn't think so, but he'd check the notebook he kept of the things his regulars liked just in case. He didn't want to be hurting or have anything go wrong.  
  
'I just hope I have enough time in between to get everything set up. Especially get into those leather pants for Duke,' Yugi smiled widely, imagining how Duke's face would look when he saw Yugi in those pants and the white, button-down shirt that's practically see through. 'Please let him like it,' he begged to anyone listening.  
  
Just as Yugi finished up the last little bit off tidying in his room for the white-haired game maker, a knock rapped on his door. Taking a quick look around, he pushed one last item of clothing under his bed before he answer it.  
  
"Good evening, Mr. Pegasus. Did you have a good day," he asked politely, using his low voice he knew the man would like.  
  
He knew he had perfected his tone and it seemed the aged man was especially horny that night. He usually didn't make a sound until much later in the game, as he liked to call it when he and Yugi were together, but now he was already groaning in his throat.  
  
The man grabbed Yugi's shoulders and pushed him back to the bed, flinging his towel off as he let go.  
  
"Ah, I'm so pleased you remembered how I like it, Yugi-boy. Not a single thing out of place and you without any clothes on," he said playfully.  
  
Yugi held in a slight whimper, using his newest mantra at the last second, 'Duke's coming at the end, Duke's coming at the end, Duke's coming at the end.'  
  
I actually meant to get this out a lot sooner, but some things held me up. Sorry about that. I hadn't even meant for some of that stuff to happen, but then I figured that you'd kind of needed to know about Pegasus and some connections characters have so I only got as far as Pegasus coming in the picture where in fact I had intended Duke to come in, but oh well. I guess that'll just have to come up next chapter. That one's probably going to be the one with stuff cut out of it and you'll have to go to a different site to get the rest if you want it, but don't worry, there'll be a notice in the exact spot it's supposed to be in so you won't be too confused about it, I hope. I'm trying that for a change to see if it's easier on you rather than emailing me for a completely missing chapter. 


	6. Customer's Call

Hey everybody. Glad lots of you liked the last chapter and thought that I updated fast...well, it felt really slow to me, but if you're happy than so am I. . Anyway, I had a few mentions about what went on. First off, yes, Marik raped Malik when that whole explanation thing came up of how they got together and all that jazz. Secondly, don't worry Y/Y fans, this is definitely going to be ending up with Yami and Yugi together. I just wanted to throw a bit of a twist in to make an interesting. Believe it or not, I can't really see Duke and Yugi together, but since Ryou, Bakura, and all those other guys were together he was my last option really. Oh, and yes Ryou and Bakura will be part of the story a bit too. Kind of a... side story, if you will, of how they get their relationship fixed up since, obviously, it's sort of the dumps right now. I can't help it. Torturing the cute ones are always fun .  
  
From: ()  
  
...Are there any cheap ploys for reviews you didn't use? How come whenever a character is a prostitute, they're always a gay prostitute? Really, that was just pathetic. I can't read any more, I'm sorry.  
  
Well, I'm sorry you felt that way, but you didn't have to make me feel bad about it. As for cheap ploys: no, I've got no reason to. If you don't like how I wrote it... well, it's too bad for you then, isn't it? I'm not sure that whenever a character is a prostitute, they're gay, but it's just how I write. Besides, yugioh doesn't exactly have female characters that you can use. Tea sucks and is too "friendly", Mai's okay, but with Yugi? No, definitely not. And the same goes for Isis. Besides, I didn't say Yugi was gay, just that his customers liked him, besides some of his regulars could be female and I just haven't mentioned it. You shouldn't go jumping to conclusions. Though... I won't deny the fact that Yugi will be gay in this fic, it doesn't necessarily mean they're ALL gay. At least you had the decency to apologize for saying my story was pathetic, but still, you couldn't say it just a little nicer?  
  
And just one more thing, sorry, I know you're probably getting totally ticked off at me now. I've had a few mentions of the relationship between Yugi and Yami going kinda slowly. Yes, I know that I'm doing this slowly and yes, it is a change for me (sort of, I guess). I'm trying to improve my skills and such. Not every relationship can be totally perfect with no bumps in the road so I kinda wanted to make this one somewhat more realistic, if that makes sense.  
  
On with the fic!!  
  
Yugi clenched his eyes shut, beads of sweat rolling down his wrinkled forehead. Though his body loved everything Pegasus' experienced mouth and hands were doing to him, his might thought much differently.  
  
'Why does he have to tease so much? Can't he just hurry up and be done with it?'  
  
The same thoughts would always repeat itself when Yugi felt his body start to squirm from the ministrations laid upon him.  
  
For the Pegasus / Yugi lemon go to: – – currently not working (I'll try to have this one up  
as soon as possible in case the first one doesn't work)  
  
"Wonderful as always, Yugi-boy. I believe I'll never tire of your services," the man smirked at him.  
  
Yugi nodded politely, "I'm glad, as always, to be of service towards you. Have a nice night, Mr. Pegasus."  
  
With one final nod, the man left, placing the sign that hung on the door reading in large, red letters 'DO NOT DISTURB'. And placed it on the inside of the door.  
  
"You as well, Yugi-boy, you as well," was the last thing he said before closing the door behind him.  
  
Yugi gave out a collective sigh of relief and collapsed in a tired heap on the bed. "That guy is exhausting," he thought aloud, "For once, can't he just move fast rather than tease for hours?"  
  
A knock rapped on his door and panic swept through Yugi. 'No way! Espa can't be here that quick!'  
  
The door opened and Yugi gulped audibly, only to relax a second later when Malik poked his head in and smiled at him.  
  
"God, Malik, I thought you were Espa."  
  
"Oh, sorry about that, Yugi," the tanned-teen said, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to sleep. I know that guy exhausts everyone."  
  
"Yeah, I'm ready to collapse now. Thanks though," the younger commented as he pulled one of the loose sheets on the bed over his waist.  
  
A box landed on the bed and Yugi looked at the white lettering tiredly as it read 'All-Purpose Candles'.  
  
"Thanks, Malik, I don't think I could've gotten these myself."  
  
"Thought so. Hurry up now, you know Espa comes early a lot of times."  
  
"All the better reason for him to leave early," Yugi said, pushing himself on the bed at last and, after tying the sheet around his waist securely, picked up five candles into one fist, "Is the lighter in there, too?"  
  
"Yup, want me to come back after Espa leaves to make sure you aren't nodding off?"  
  
"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble," Yugi said absently as he placed a candle on his side table, putting the cash Pegasus had given him inside the bottom drawer. He lit it up and made sure it wasn't going to go out before moving to the other side of the bed.  
  
"Not at all, I already had my appointment so I'm free for a couple more hours at least before I can amuse myself with the walk-in drunks."  
  
Yugi shivered as he lit the second candle, placed on the other side of his bed, "How can you stand those walk-ins, Malik? You never know what they have."  
  
"All the reason for the protection, Yugi," Malik smirked as he held up a new box of condoms, "Never take a walk-in without them."  
  
Yugi rolled his eyes as he moved to his termite-eaten desk, which he rarely ever used and placed the third and fourth candle there.  
  
"So who did you have earlier?"  
  
"Nobody special really. Just that slut who has practically almost has everyone in this as a regular."  
  
"Must've been Tea," Yugi noted as he lit the two candles.  
  
"Yup, I'm surprised she hasn't run away from her home yet and came to work here. Gods know she'd be good at it."  
  
Yugi laughed, unable to disagree with that statement. "Well, he should be here any minute so you should go. I still want to wipe off really fast before he gets here."  
  
"Sure, no problem. Good luck, Yugi, see you later." With that, Malik turned and walked out the door.  
  
Yugi watched the door for a second longer before placing the final candle on the windowsill, pushing the blinds closed, and lighting it.  
  
After making sure the room was bathed in candlelight, Yugi looked under his bed and pulled out the strawberry-scented baby wipes and cleaned himself off with it.  
  
A knock rapped on his door and Yugi hurriedly unknotted the sheet around his waist, threw it in the closet, and sat down on the bed Indian-style.  
  
The door opened and Espa Roba's face looked in. The robed man smiled just slightly to show he was pleased everything was just how he liked it.  
  
Yugi smiled inwardly at himself, pleased that he could make his customers happy and comfortable for them, even if some of the customers he disliked greatly. He moved into the room, placing the sign Pegasus had removed only minutes earlier back on the outside of the door before closing it.  
  
"I am most pleased to see you didn't forget anything out, Yugi," the man said before latching onto Yugi's chest and sucking as hard as possible for a human.  
  
Yugi just unnoticeably rolled his eyes, all the while thinking, 'What is it my with my chest and everybody's fetish for making some sort of mark on it? After a few years it does become annoying and somehow lots less enjoyable than the last time it was used on me to get aroused.'  
  
For the Espa Roba / Yugi lemon  
Return to the previous link given   
  
Already feeling his eyes droop shut even though he was continuously telling himself to stay awake just a little while longer, he couldn't help himself but given into the darkness calling him.  
  
The next thing Yugi knew he was being shaken awake with somebody called him desperately. Yugi finally moaned at the person calling and tried pushing them away.  
  
"Seepy, go way," grumbled.  
  
"Yugi, you've got to wake up," The person shouted at him, "Duke's going to be here in like fifteen minutes!"  
  
All thoughts of succumbing to unconsciousness again left him and Yugi literally fell off the bed, "WHAT!?"  
  
"That's right, Espa just left, hurry," Malik told him.  
  
"Right," Yugi scrambled off the floor, not caring if the whole world saw him completely naked at the moment, as long as he got the chance to burn off anything left behind from Pegasus or Espa in a scorching hot shower.  
  
He gathered up his special clothes he had bought earlier, picked up a discarded towel from the closet, and ran out the door. Malik heard a few whistles and catcalls as he heard the running further down the hall and then what was unmistakably the squeaky, falling-off-hinges bathroom door slam shut.  
  
Sorry for the lateness of it. I couldn't figure out how I wanted this done quite right since I'm not exactly a large fan of Yugi being with anyone, but Yami, but it sort of kind of had to be done somehow. Can't have pleasure without pain, ne? Also, sorry for the shortness of the chappie; with the two 'lemons' inserted it makes it to the original eight pages, but since won't allow them I put the links in. I'm trying something different this time so you won't have to wait for me to get back to you. Hope this works out better for you wonderful readers. 


	7. Meeting Up Again

Yugi hurriedly dried off from his showed and clothes himself in his new leather pants and loose, white shirt, not buttoning it completely. After toweling his hair off as quickly as possible he ran from the bathroom and skid to a stop in front of his door where a familiar figure was already sitting.

"Duke," the violet-eyed teen gasped.

Said person turned slowly and smiled softly at him.

"I'm so sorry," Yugi bowed lowly, "I hadn't meant to keep you waiting and I..." He immediately stopped in his ranting apologies when Duke's shadow covered his tense form.

"It's alright, Yugi, don't worry about it," the taller said, lifting the youth's face up by placing a warm hand on his blushing cheek, "I can understand if you'd want a shower, Yugi. It's no problem at all. In fact," he narrowed his eyes mischievously, "I'd prefer it so I can have the pleasure of those wonderful images."

Unneeded to say, the statement didn't help Yugi's blush any.

"Are those new clothes," Duke grinned easily.

"Y-yeah, I just got them t-today," Yuki kicked himself for stuttering.

"Nervous, Yugi," Duke laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not upset," he said quickly after seeing Yugi look away embarrassedly. "Come here, I'd like to catch up with you."

Yugi's eyes widened, but he didn't hesitate to move over next to Duke after closing the door and putting the sign up.

"So how have you been? It's been quite a while," Duke started.

"It's been okay, the usual I suppose: sore and tired all day and when night comes be the perfect plaything for rude customers."

The answer caused Duke to laugh richly and fall sloppily onto the bed, causing Yugi to smile at him. He always enjoyed Duke's company; the older was always so comfortable around him. Yugi was glad to know that his crush felt so at ease around him and in his small, yet cozy, room that he felt they could talk about regular things like best friends do.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you in a while, even if just to say hello. The truth is, Yugi," Duke sat up and cupped the side of Yugi's face with a hand, "I'm missed you very much, Yugi. I've actually been really worried about you after I stopped coming to see you on a regular basis."

Yugi looked down, "You don't have to worry about me, Duke. I've still got Malik and Marik to help me. They wouldn't let anybody pick on me or anything like that."

Duke laughed and nodded, "They seem very protective of you." It was the last thing he said before claiming Yugi's lips in a close kiss.

The youth moaned into the kiss and easily fit into the much-missed rhythm and embrace that was Duke. He didn't even realize that he was starting to be undressed until he felt cool air along his upper body. He blushed slightly when his favorite customer's "talent" came back to him at how he could remove his clothing with such ease and not even let him notice. Usually, it was Yugi who had to do the undressing since his other customers just didn't like it... or whatever.

"Just relax; you've had a long night," Duke whispered huskily into ear.

Yugi shivered at the voice, but closed his eyes and let himself be lost in the sensations of somebody pleasuring him for once. He vaguely wondered somebody would pay to give it to somebody else rather than receiving it for themselves, especially with somebody like Duke who was a busy guy and lived quite a ways away from the whorehouse. His thoughts quickly surpassed him though as a warm, wet tongue started drawing designs along his chest.

"Let me take care of you this time," a same voice said to him, accenting each word with a kiss, moving further down with each one.

The violet-eyed teen could only moan in response as he let Duke do whatever he wanted to him.

'_As long as I can be with him, I don't care what happens,'_ Yugi thought to himself, closing his eyes causing his other sense rise greatly.

Yugi must've been more tired than he thought because in the next few minutes he was fast asleep with Duke watching him silently, enjoying the angelic face the was relaxed completely before him.

"You've had a rough night," he repeated in a whisper, bringing one of the blankets that were falling off the bed over his and Yugi's cooling bodies.

When morning came Yugi nearly worried himself sick when the last thing he remembered from the night before came back to him. His eyes shot open and he would've fallen out of the bed if it weren't for the arm wound around his waist.

The movement shook Duke awake and he smiled slightly at the younger teen.

"Duke, oh my god! I am so sorry! I didn't mean...I mean, it was a long night and the two appointments before you...I mean that's no excuse I should've..."

Duke rolled his eyes at the rambling and then silenced Yugi with a kiss, effectively shutting his mouth and causing him to look away.

"Don't worry about it, Yugi. Sometimes you just can't help it. On one side, I could feel extremely honored that you'd feel so comfortable around to cause yourself to go to sleep, even if you moaning with pleasure just minutes before," he joked.

"I still feel really bad though," a red tint rose in Yugi's cheeks, "Nothing has ever happened like this before."

"I told you not to worry about," Duke kissed the tip of his nose and smiled at him.

"You won't have to pay," Yugi quickly stuttered when he saw Duke reaching for his wallet on the side table, the younger figuring he put it there sometime after he fell asleep.

Duke quickly looked back at Yugi and sighed, "Well, I want to do something for you then. Whether you'll believe me or not, I did enjoy myself even after you fell asleep. You look quite angelic and simply delicious when you're asleep after all."

"The whole point of coming here though was so you could be fulfilled while I'm awake though," Yugi looked down, playing with the folds in the sheets.

"Actually, I only came here because I didn't know any other way to see you. I missed you while I was away and I guess I just wanted to visit with you. Making an appointment though seemed like the only way to do it since I didn't know any other way to see you."

To say Yugi was shocked would be an understatement. He quickly looked anywhere but where Duke could see his burning red face.

'He missed me? DUKE missed ME? Could that mean that he has feelings... NO! Yugi don't think like that. He probably just thinks of you as a friend. I'm sure he's got lots of girls lined up for him, maybe even much better guys than I could ever be.'

"I know," Duke said excitedly, snapping his fingers in triumph, "Are you doing anything today?"

"Um.... Not that I know of right now. I was going to go to the park though to see if a friend's there," Yugi answered, thinking, _'Friend? Yami? Yeah right; I'm not sure what to call him, but I know I want to see him again. I might get lucky at the park like the last two times.'_

"I see," Duke said excitedly, "In that case, why don't you come over?"

"What?"

"Yeah, come over to my place. That way I don't have to pay, but you can pleasure me all the same."

"You mean, instead of doing it here we'll do it at your place?"

Duke couldn't help but laugh at the innocent, but not seemingly, question. "Of course not, silly. There are different forms of pleasure after all. In the case I'm speaking of, why don't we catch up? Just talk, you know? It's been a while after all."

It took a minute for the meaning to take hold of Yugi, but when it did a large smile broke out on his face and he nodded excitedly. "That would be so awesome, Duke! Thank you!" Without even meaning to, Yugi launched himself at the older teen and hugged him tightly. "This'll be great; I promise I won't fall asleep."

The older teen chuckled lightly and returned the embrace before letting Yugi move away. "This will be great, Yugi. I consider you one of my very best friends after all. There's so many things I wish to tell you."

Yugi smiled and nodded, unable to think of anything else to say without looking too excited. _'This could be my chance that I've been waiting for. Today might be the day! The day I tell Duke... what I really feel for him. I hope so. I might finally have something... someone to live for.'_ The thought alone could've made Yugi's day perfect, and nobody was going to take it away from him.

"I should be going," Duke finally said after a moment's silence. He pulled over his wallet and scribbled on ripped off piece of paper his address and the code to open the gate. "If the guards give you any trouble just call me on my cell phone. I put that on there too. Just call me before you leave so I'll know roughly when to expect you so I can watch for you and make sure those goons don't dive you too tough a time."

Yugi nodded and made sure he put the paper somewhere where he wouldn't lose it in the mess he called his room. _'I'm definitely cleaning this place up before I go out.'_

Duke stood and ruffled Yugi's hair before heading for the door, "By the way, Yugi, don't beat yourself up over last night. I probably would've done the same had I been in your situation."

The younger nodded one last time before the door closed behind Duke and Yugi was free to his own devices for a little while. Glancing over at the paper he noticed there was also a time, which Duke hadn't mentioned. _'I've got a few hours at least before Duke's going to be free. I'm sure he's got a lot of things to do after taking a night off like he did.'_

Yugi decided to get dressed and head out to the park. After all, he wasn't really sure when to expect Yami to be there if he was going to be there at all. He wasn't even sure why he was compelled to see his red-eyed look-a-like, but he did.

Hurrying out to the park he looked around for the familiar head of identical spiky hair among the people who were already there.

"It's definitely been a while, Yugi," a deep voice said from behind said teen, startling him greatly.

"Yami," he yelled before calming down. "It hasn't really been that long."

"That's true," he shrugged, "So what brings you to this dump once again," he asked as he lit up a cigarette from a fresh pack.

"You smoke?"

"Once in a while, only when I get too tense for my liking though," he replied as he took a long drag, "So? Why here?"

"I could ask the same of you since I'm always running into you here," Yugi joked.

"Easier to pick up the chicks. I don't know why, but there's something that makes girls attracted to a guy when they're around the flowers in this trashy place."

"Maybe because they think it's romantic?"

"This coming from a guy who shares the same views of love as I do. How would you know that?"

Yugi shrugged, "I'm not sure. I guess I'm just here to be here," he answered the earlier question, not wanting Yami to think he was stalking him.

"You're a terrible liar." Yugi started. "You looked like you were looking for somebody."

Yugi blushed and looked away, knowing he'd been caught.

Instead of rubbing it in or accusing Yugi of things like stalking he walked over to a bench and sat down, motioning for the younger to join him. "So how did your night go? I was worried," he finished quietly.

"Last night? What do you mean?"

"Your appointments?"

"How did you know about those?"

Yami quickly looked away, "Well, I figured since you go to a whorehouse you'd have some appointments every night or something like that."

Yugi didn't quite believe him, but decided not to push it. "I should go. Me being around you isn't going to help you any with picking up the girls." He stood from the rickety, paint-peeling bench and started to walk away.

"Wait," Yami suddenly called from him.

The younger looked back and was surprised at the softened expression on the usually hard face.

"Stay, I didn't come here for girls; I lied."

Yugi rose an eyebrow in response and turned to look at the older more comfortably. "What then?"

"I... I wanted to see you again," he admitted grudgingly, almost inaudibly.

"You did," You asked, completely surprised that they'd both had the same idea.

"Yeah," he answered before quickly adding, "but don't get the wrong idea or anything."

Yugi laughed, "I won't." He walked back over to the bench and sat down. Without meaning to he asked, "What idea do you want me to get?"

Yami was startled by the boldness of the question, but looking at Yugi's face he realized the question wasn't meant to be asked out loud. He chuckled and decided to answer. "I can't stop thinking of you, I guess. You've definitely intrigued something inside of me to make me want to see whenever I can."

The younger blushed at the response, not expecting something quite like that.

"It's weird, you know," Yami continued. "I've never felt something like this towards anything in my entire life."

"Should I feel honored or something," Yugi joked.

Yami smirked at him, getting the point that he was too serious right then. "So...uh...what are you doing tonight? I thought we could hang out or whatever."

"I'm going over to... a friend's house. He's one of my regulars, but I haven't seen him for a while. He came back last night though, but he admitted that he hadn't really wanted to do anything, he just wanted to see me again," he blushed lightly, thinking once more what he this morning about admitting his feelings at last. "So he invited me over to his place and I'm going to hang out with him."

"Oh," Yami looked away, slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to be with Yugi, even if he didn't know why he felt so connected to him. "Maybe some other time then."

Sensing the disappointment in his voice, Yugi smiled and pointed out, "I've got a few hours before I need to head over there though."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Yami smiled a real smile. "Want to get out of this dump then?"

Yugi laughed and nodded, "Okay."

The two spend the rest of their time together just walking mindlessly around the city and talking about anything in particular. They enjoyed each other's company and learning about the other in all aspects. Yugi even got as so comfortable as to even talk about his customers and what sort of people came in now and then. He explained how some even had moods they liked when they came in and, to make their stay the most enjoyable, Yugi would continually set up the room like that whenever they came in.

"I guess you've got to have a lot of patience for something like that," Yami had noted after Yugi explained about the candles and the different scents he let out into his room whenever Espa Roba came calling.

When it finally came time for Yugi to head back to the whorehouse so he can clean up before heading over to Duke's, the two walked back in silence. Just before Yugi disappeared behind the door for the night, Yami stopped him one simple phrase:

"I called last night."

Yugi froze in his tracks and stared over his shoulder at Yami curiously. The older looked away as he explained.

"I called this place last night to get an appointment with you. That's how I knew about your appointments."

Before Yugi could say anything, Yami turned and ran from the whorehouse.

'_That was definitely... unexpected. Why would Yami do something like that if he goes to the park for somebody instead and not having to pay for it is definitely a bonus.'_

Leaving the thought to wander, he headed inside to get ready.

When he felt presentable and not like some hoodlum off the street, Yugi picked up the paper from his side table and headed off in the right direction.

He stopped in front of an impossible large gate, with a long winding path up to a large house.

'_That's no house; that's a mansion,' _Yugi thought incredulously.

After countless minutes of standing there, staring at what lay in front of him in disbelief, Yugi walked over to a small box by the gate and looked down at the piece of paper for the code.

Just before he pushed in the numbers though, he froze. "Oh no," he moaned, "I forgot to call him. Let's just hope the guards don't bug me then."

He punched in the four digits and watched as not the large, iron gates opened, but a smaller man-sized door just to his left opened mechanically.

He stepped in and the door closed behind him. He headed up the long pathway as he looked around the green property.

'_This is almost like a fairytale or something. It seems way too perfect looking,'_ He couldn't help but think.

There were large trees placed randomly around the large yard and the entire area except for the dirt path leading up to the mansion was covered in lush green grass.

"There's even a pond way over there! Though for all I know, that could even be a lake or something. Is that a willow by its edge," he squinted to get a better look, "It is! Duke definitely must be doing good for himself if he can afford all this."

Looking around further he became curious, "But where are those guards."

His question was easily answered when he saw two burly men at the door of the large house. When his person was noticed they rushed over and started barking out questions in the rudest tone Yugi had ever heard.

"What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?"

"How did you get you get in here?"

"What is your business with Mr. Devlin?"

"Gentlemen, please, let the poor guy breathe," a joking voice said from the door.

Yugi looked up and never felt more relief than now at seeing his secret crush standing there smiling down at him.

"This is a good friend of mine, Yugi. He might be coming around more often even so get used to seeing him."

"Yes, sir," the two men said simultaneously.

"Good. Yugi, come with me."

Without wasting a second, Yugi ran up the few steps and in through the door, closing it behind him. "Sorry I didn't call," he said quickly when Duke turned to look at him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you had other things on your mind."

Yugi nodded and slightly blushed as he noticed Duke staring down at him with a soft expression. He looked around instead and noted, "You've got a really nice place, Duke. You must be doing good for yourself with that game."

"Yeah, the game did most of this, but I've got a few other things out there that I'm hoping with also be somewhat popular, but you can't always be lucky. I'd give you a tour, but the cleaners get all uptight when I start wandering while they're trying to tidy up and stuff."

"That's okay, it can wait if you really want to show me around."

"That's true. After all, you'd want to know your way around if you're going to be coming over here more often."

"I am?"

"I'd like it if you did."

Yugi blushed, _'Should I wait a little longer? Or tell him now?'_

Duke collapsed onto a plush looking couch and gestured for Yugi to join him. "Would you like something to drink? Or eat?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks." He sat down and fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Is everything okay, Yugi? You seem distracted."

'_Am I that noticeable?'_

"It's nothing, he answered. It's just been a while, I guess."

"Yes, of course. You came here to catch up how silly of me. I'm the one who invited you and here I am just glad that you accepted the invitation," he laughed.

Yugi laughed along with him and the two started talking much like him and Yami had earlier that day. _'If only every day it could be this comfortable and easy going.'_

After finally telling each other everything they possibly could and with much detail it was already very late.

"I had realized time had gone by so fast," Duke said with surprise as he looked at the clock on the mantel above the fireplace. "I'd really hate it if you walked all the way back to that place all alone. Unfortunately my driver has probably already gone for the night and I don't really trust my guards enough to get in a car with them behind the wheel," he joked, "They're mostly just for looks to get people off my back."

"I'll be fine, Duke."

"No, you can stay here for the night. I insist."

Yugi blushed and looked away, knowing there wasn't any way he was going to be able to go off alone. He agreed and allowed Duke to lead him up to one of his spare bedrooms.

"My room is that one at the end of the hall if you need me at all. The bathroom's in the other direction just before you reach the stairs. Will you need anything else?"

"No, I'm okay."

"All right. I'll be back with something for you to sleep in."

Yugi blushed again, but was glad his crush hadn't noticed as he walked out.

He returned moments later. "They might be a bit big," he explained, "but I hope they'll be okay."

"They're fine, thanks, Duke."

"All right, I'll see you in the morning then. Good night, Yugi."

"Thank you, good night, Duke."

Duke closed the door behind him and an overwhelming sense of depression hit Yugi as he walked over to the bed and sat down on it. _'I didn't get a single chance to tell him at all. How pathetic is that? I could tell him now, but he might even kick me out and then I'd be stuck. Well, it's not like I've never wandered around in the dark before. If I get kicked out that's the least that can happen, right?'_

Knowing he wouldn't find this courage again he decided not to dress in the other clothes in case the worst would happen and headed down the hall where the Duke's door was slightly open and a stream of light was coming from it.

He peeked in and noticed Duke talking on his phone. He decided to wait for him to get off before going in.

"Don't worry, Serenity, he's just a friend; nothing more than that, I promise."

Fear struck Yugi at the thought of who he was talking to. _'Why would somebody worry about somebody being just a friend...unless..."_

"I didn't do anything with him last night. I just went over to see him, that's it."

'I shouldn't of come here if Duke...' 

"I'm only in love with you, Serenity. I could never have feelings for somebody else. I'll never go back to that place if you don't want me to."

Yugi's entire world broke before him as he collapsed on his knees, noticing how Duke didn't even take notice of the slight thump he created at his door, causing the crack to widen revealing his form easily.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

Tears streamed down Yugi's face as he couldn't help but listen to the conversation.

"Goodnight, love."

The phone clicked and Duke sighed as he set it down. Noticing that his door was slightly open he looked over just as he heard a door close from down the hall. Curious, he walked down to Yugi's room and knocked lightly.

"Yugi? Did you need something?"

He heard light sniffing and quickly became worried. He was about to open the door when Yugi's muffled voice told him he was fine. He wanted to check on him, but decided against it, knowing he'd like privacy if he were upset about something too.

Yugi listened as Duke's footsteps faded before he looked up from his huddled position in the far corner. He'd never been hurt like this before; never in his entire life had felt more heartbroken.

'_Yami was right,'_ he thought as his tears began to speed up, _'There's no such thing as love, especially for somebody like me.'_ He knew Yami hadn't said anything about somebody with his profession couldn't have love, but it definitely seemed like a possibility with emotions running through him right then. His whole world had crashed around him and his ripped to innumerable pieces in the span of a phone call that he wasn't even supposed to have heard.

'_I'll never be able to love again,'_ he convinced himself as he continued to cry, _'I won't ever let myself love again; Never!'_ He stood and headed for the door, intend on leaving as fast as he could. He just wanted out. He might not even head for the whorehouse. _'I'll leave this entire city.'_

He reached for the door handle and froze as he saw a pad of post-it notes on the desk.

'But Duke...he deserves to at least know, right? Shouldn't he know how I felt, especially since this...no, that, since that was the last feeling I'll ever have towards anyone.'

He reached for the pad and searched around the desk for something to write with. He wrote down a quick, scratchy note and as he finished tears dripped onto the paper. Yugi didn't bother trying to wipe them off as they soaked in the note either. He tore of the small page and stuck it on the clothes before quietly heading out of the house and running down the street.

_**Duke, **_

_**I'll never be able to express how I felt to you**_

_**As I had wanted to, but I thought you should**_

_**At least know since I know I won't ever let myself**_

_**Feel like this ever again. I know you're already in**_

_**Love with somebody, but I wanted you to know**_

_**I loved you too.**_

Hey everybody, sorry for the long wait. I just couldn't get this chapter to work with me and plus I was a bit bummed out on inspiration when I only got like two or three reviews from the last chapter. I can understand why, but still I was kinda upset about it. So to make it up for you from Pegasus and Espa I added in a bit of Yami for you to enjoy. Hope you like this one at least, or I might just stop since it's turning out to be a hopeless cause if nobody likes it. Lol.


	8. Skipping Town

Hey all, sorry about what I said last chapter at the end about the review thing. I hadn't realized the little review thingy had be down otherwise I would've just ignored it. Lol, silly me. Yeah so sorry about that.

As for the inspiration thing evil look well let's just say some of the reviews I received for the last chapter gave me a lot to write this one. I got an entire three pages (!) just by reading a few. I was super excited about that.

yaoicrazy-chic() – go right ahead and write your yugi/duke pairing if you want to.

Yugi looked up at the graying sky miserably. _'The weather matches my mood,'_ He thought distractedly, unable to make his memory forget the phone call he wished hadn't existed.

He'd made it all the way to the train station across down before he realized that he hadn't had any money to buy a ticket and even then he didn't have anything but the clothes on his back and his broken heart; he'd look like a street bum in no time if he went out like that.

More hot tears streamed down his face as he rested his face in his hands, not knowing what to do now.

'_I just want to leave this place. Leave everything I've ever known behind,'_ He thought gloomily.

Knowing there was only one way he was going to leave he stood up from the rickety bench in front of the station and started walking towards the whorehouse.

'_I won't stay long. Just enough to get in and get my stuff unnoticed before I come back.'_

Arriving at the whorehouse only brought terrible memories back of what he had shared with Duke just the night before. Sighing dejectedly he moved up the few steps and opened the heavy wood door near silently. He walked the few rooms down to his room and started to pulling clothes out of his closet and the few possessions he'd bothered keeping with him over the years.

'_Where can I go? I don't know where any other places like this exist and I wouldn't be able to find another job so easily as I did this one.' _What thought to come to mind, but he didn't know if he should consider it. _'Maybe...maybe I should just go home?'_ Even the suggestion made him shiver, but he didn't have any other choice.

Loud laughter filled his ears and Yugi tensed considerably when he recognized it. _'Doesn't... doesn't Joey have sister named Serenity?'_ Even the name could bring even the little bit of happiness that had managed to sneak through his torn up defenses down again.

He peaked outside of his room and felt his resolve crumble as he saw Joey. _'Did... he know all this time about his sister dating Duke even though he knew how I felt?'_ He moved back into his room and roughly wiped away his tears, composing himself, as he finished packing. He was about to swing the bag over his shoulder and grab his wallet when his hand wavered, _'but... what if it isn't the same Serenity? I've got to at least know.'_

He put his bag back down and moved towards Joey's room. "Joey," he said almost silently, not sure if the blonde would even hear him.

Joey perked up a little and looked over at him as he picked up a sheet off the floor and tossed it into the laundry pile he was making, "Hey, Yugi. What's up? You look out of it."

Yugi looked up at Joey with complete exhaustion and distress along with his depression revolving around behind his violet eyes. "Joey, you have a sister named Serenity, don't you," he asked.

"Yeah, what about her," Joey questioned casually as he continued to make his bed.

The younger figured Seto was coming over later and Joey wanted the place to look neat. "Do you keep tabs on her?"

"Once in a while I find the time to call. I've got to be careful though since our... her parents don't like her talking to me."

"Oh," Yugi said as he leant against the wall.

"Why are you interested?"

"No reason," was the reply, though anybody could tell it was a lie. "Is she... dating anybody?"

"She mentioned once or twice the last time I managed to talk to her. She said he was a popular game creator or something, why? I thought you liked Duke."

Tears immediately sprang to Yugi's tired eyes and, without answering, he started walking away. He hadn't even noticed Joey look at him concerned before turning and heading towards Marik's office hurriedly, needing to make a phone call to his sister, praying to anybody listening his suspicions of Yugi's attitude towards the subject to be false.

Joey knocked lightly on Marik's door, entering when the familiar voice beckoned him in. "Hey, Marik, Malik," he greeted politely. "Do you mind if I use the phone to call my sister?"

"So soon this time," Marik asked surprised, but gestured to the phone to show he didn't mind.

"Yugi was asking funny questions about her and if she was dating somebody. I'm not sure why, but he seemed really upset and I'm a bit suspicious about it." He picked up the phone and dialed the only number besides Seto's he bothered using. He waited and tensed when a voice finally answered.

'_Yugi's upset? Maybe that's why Duke's been calling like crazy asking to talk to Yugi,'_ Marik thought, feeling a bit suspicious about what had happened.

"Um...yes, hello Mrs. Katsuya," Joey said in a high-pitched girly sounding voice, causing snickers to erupt from Malik and Marik. He sent them a glare before continuing in the same voice, "Is Serenity there? This is really important."

"Yes, of course. May I ask who's calling?"

"Err..Jooooo-an. Yeah, Joan."

"Oh, are you a new friend?"

"Yes, we met a short while ago."

"Alright, hold on."

Joey sighed with relief and just hoped Serenity would just answer instead of asking questions about who 'Joan' was.

"Hello," a confused voice answered.

"Serenity, thank god. I really need to ask you something."

"Oh, Joo-an. I wasn't sure at first," his sister laughed, causing Joey to believe that one of her parents were passing by. "What's up?"

"That person you told me you're dating, who is it?"

"What? I don't see why it's your business."

"Please, I really need to know. It's for a good friend of mine."

"His name's Duke Devlin. Joey, I don't see why this....Joey? Hello?"

Joey had dropped the phone as soon as the name was said. "Oh no," he rasped out.

Marik and Malik immediately became concerned. "Joey, who was it?"

"Duke's dating my sister."

Malik tensed before running out of his room down the hall towards Yugi's room as fast as he could. It wasn't hard to figure it out. While Yugi was over at Duke's he somehow must've found out about Serenity and asked Joey if it was the same person. When Yugi had first come to the whorehouse he was such an emotionally detached person and Duke was one of the first people to help him become a 'normal feeling person', as Yugi put it, again. If Yugi had found out Duke was with someone else he might not have taken it all that well.

He stormed into Yugi's room and froze. The place was bare of anything Yugi had considered precious to him. Half of his closet was emptied out and all of his usual small trinkets he kept with him.

"Oh no," Malik repeated much like Joey had.

Just then thunder crashed outside and it wasn't long before a downpour started.

'_He can't have gone far,'_ Malik resolved, filled with hope as he ran out of the house, not listening for Marik to come back and put something warmer on.

Malik ran all around town before he headed for the lone station at the end of the city before he panicked. The train was leaving.

He ran for all he was worth to the train to try and stop his best friend, but the security guard stopped him before he could even close. Instead of arguing he just started yelling at the train. "Yugi! Please don't do this, Yugi! Duke wasn't worth it anyway, please don't run away from everything!"

The train sped up before it disappeared around the corner. Tears streamed down Malik's eyes as he collapsed in the mud and just stared at where the train had disappeared, his tears mixing with the rain pouring down on him.

"Please come back, Yugi. You're my best friend," he croaked out.

"Sir, you'll have to move for the other passengers soon for the next train," the guard said before going under the roof to get out of the rain.

It seemed like forever before he finally found the strength to get up and walk all the way back to the whorehouse to tell everyone what had happened. _'Why did he have to leave,'_ Malik would ask himself as he walked.

Minutes before the Train left

Yugi gasped for breath as he ran all the way to the train station. He was about to go up to the ticket booth when a voice reached his ears.

"Yugi," Yami called, worry slightly in his voice as he watched Yugi through the downpour around them.

"Hey, Yami," Yugi croaked around his tight throat, not wanting to see his look-a-like now. He just wanted to leave this city.

Seeing his bag Yami started to panic. He didn't even know why, but he didn't want Yugi to leave. He was the only person he had ever managed to connect with and didn't have to pretend to be something he wasn't to get the younger to like him. He didn't want to go back to his emotionless self again because Yugi skipped town.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I can't stay here anymore," Yugi said simply, starting to walk towards the ticket booth.

Yami's eyes widened, he couldn't ever remember feeling this anxious before and he'd been through a lot of things that could make a person panic like crazy. "Why," was the only thing that came to mind right then.

"There's too many memories here. I don't want to remember anything."

"Not even me," it came out before Yami could stop himself.

"You wouldn't understand." Yugi told him after pausing. He did want to remember Yami, but then he'd remember how much fun he'd been having while he was hear, but it the end it would only continue hurting him.

"Then where are you going?"

"Home," Yugi told him, his voice not sounding like his own as he shivered at the thought of returning to the hellhole that made him leave the first time.

Yami froze at the thought, remembering what Yugi had told him about where he lived and how his parents were. He wouldn't – couldn't – let Yugi go back where it only made his life even more miserable than he looked, and probably felt, right then.

He ran up to Yugi before he could get his ticket and turned him around by his shoulders, pulling him in to a hug and holding him tightly. "Don't go, Yugi. I feel different with you in my life. I finally want to live, Yugi. Do you really want to be responsible for somebody's death?"

Yugi was silent before he started shivering and then whimpers reached Yami's ears. He relaxed slightly when he felt Yugi clutching at his form.

"Come with me, Yugi; live with me," Yami asked him desperately, not wanting him to leave.

"But your dad," Yugi choked out.

"Is usually passed out in bedroom or in a bar. The last time I actually saw him awake was about four months ago, but it didn't last very long. Please, Yugi?"

It took a minute before Yugi finally nodded, relaxing into the older's embrace.

Yami sighed with relief and took Yugi's bag for him as they started walking away from the station where the train's whistle was blowing for people to start boarding.

Neither noticed Malik as he skid around the corner towards the train station.

"This is it, Yugi," Yami said as he opened the busted door. "This hinges are bit rusted, but I was going to fix it this weekend."

Yugi nodded, yawning cutely as he rubbed tired eyes.

"You've got to be worn out. What happened to make you want to leave?"

"Nothing."

Yami knew he was lying, but figured he didn't want to talk about it.

He shivered from the cold and pulled his soaked jacket away from him, tossing it onto the brass coat hanger in the corner.

"I'm sure your stuff is soaked in that bag. Would you like me to get you something warmer?"

Yugi shuddered also and nodded, knowing there was probably a lake in the bag with the way it was dripping. "If-if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not, hold on," Yami went down the small hall and took out a sweatshirt and sweatpants. He put them next to Yugi on the couch and went to go get a towel. "Why don't you go take a hot shower to get warmed up before you change so you don't catch cold?" It was more an order than a suggestion, but Yugi didn't protest either way.

"What about you," he asked before he disappeared in the bathroom.

"I'll be fine for right now. Just get warmed up. I'll take one after you."

"Okay." Yugi then disappeared in the bathroom and moments later the sound of the water going ran through the pipes.

Yami smiled inwardly to himself, glad that he'd managed to stop Yugi from leaving for good. He didn't know what he would've done if he hadn't seen Yugi running like crazy towards the station and followed him.

He pulled out a few blankets from the closet and placed them on the couch before moving to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for the both of them.

That night they both were huddled on the couch wrapped in blankets just enjoying the silence and each other's company.

'_Just stay with me, Yugi. You give me the will to live; the first time I've ever wanted it in my life,'_ Yami thought as he played with Yugi's wet locks as the younger slept with his head resting in Yami's lap. _'Whatever hurt you enough to make you leave, I'll help you in any way that I can.'_


	9. Reactions and Occupants

Tears leaked down Ryou's reddened cheeks as he cried into an equally quivering Malik's arms. It hadn't taken very long for his tears to begin, especially since Malik had already looked like he'd been crying for hours. The thought of Yugi leaving, it tore him apart from the inside out. He couldn't bear it if he was forced to stand this pain alone.

"I'll take him from here, Ryou. Thank you," Marik said, holding gently onto Malik's arms to pull him away. The albino let him and watched as the couple walked away, Malik continuing to cry harshly into his lover's jacket.

Feeling eyes on his back he turned around to stare into the harsh auburn eyes of his look-a-like.

"Hey, Bakura," he rasped, wiping his eyes, but knowing he was probably making the red stand out around them.

"I always knew you were a weakling, but crying for someone you weren't close to? How pathetic can one person get?"

"He was my friend," Ryou said sadly, looking down at the ground, feeling more tears coming to his eyes at the thought. "I really wanted to be with him longer, so we could patch everything up. I'll never get that chance now and I can't help blaming myself because of it."

A surge of sympathy ran through Bakura and he sighed irritatingly at himself before he moved towards Ryou and wrapped him protectively in his arms, letting him cry into his shoulder.

"I-I just don't think Yugi would leave be-because of one thing like Duke, no matter ho-how much h-he l-lo-loved him," Ryou sobbed out, wrenching something inside of Bakura's chest.

"It'll be okay in the end, Ryou. I'm sure you haven't seen the last of him," he tried to comfort.

Ryou wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and continued to cry uncontrollably. "I'm sure he must've been un-unhappy about man-many other th-things to m-make him leave s-so qui-quickly."

Bakura rocked gently back and forth before leading Ryou to his room. "I'm still here, love, don't worry. I'll be here for you."

"I'm a terrible friend, Marik! I don't deserve to live," Malik cried out, hiding his face as he sobbed into his lover's chest.

"Don't you dare say stuff like that, Malik. You do deserve to live and I won't let you do or think anything to make you do otherwise. I won't let you hurt yourself like this. Now think, Malik, just think, did Yugi ever mention anything about where he lived."

Malik shook his head, "I don't want to talk about this, Marik."

The older looked desperately around his young lover's room for some sort of idea of what he could do. He hated seeing Malik like this and thinking things like, but he didn't know what to do. So he did the only thing he could, what he did whenever he wanted Malik to pay attention to him, he pressed his lips to Malik's and forced his mouth open, exploring the familiar, warm cavern. When he finally felt Malik start to respond to him he pulled away and looked deeply into his lavender eyes, so much more innocent looking than his own.

"I know this isn't the best time to think about Yugi, but you have to, love. It might be the only chance we get at having him back."

Malik nodded, sniffing heavily around his tears and resting his head tiredly on Marik's shoulder, looking as though he hadn't slept well for weeks.

"He never said anything about his parent's place other than the horrible things that made him run away from there," he wheezed out after a few minutes of silence. "There wouldn't really be a reason for him to go back so I don't think he would've gone there."

"What about other relatives?"

"He said they – that they were all dead or just as bad as his parents."

"Any friends he might think of trying."

Malik shook his head, "He never mentioned anyone like that, nobody he could really trust before." More tears soaked into Marik's shirt and he knew it was time to stop.

"Try to rest, love. I'll be here when you wake up," looked back into Malik's watery, red-rimmed eyes he added, "I promise, I will."

The younger nodded and let himself be laid back onto his bed, closing his eyes and clasping Marik's hand in his own when he felt it placed in his.

Amethyst eyes blinked open and looked around the dingy looking apartment he woke up to. "Where am I," he rasped out sleepily, swallowing around his dry throat.

"That would be my place," a cheerful voice said from somewhere to his left. Yami came into his view and placed a plate of eggs and a couple strips of bacon on the table by the couch, "Good morning, sleepy-head. Did you sleep well?"

"Somewhat, my head feels kind of fuzzy." Yugi sat up, ignoring how the room started to spin and looked around as best as he could, "Is your dad..."

"Gone? Yeah, he left somewhere around two this morning. I'm glad he didn't wake you up, he can be pretty noisy." Yami looked at him for a second before concluding, "Are you feeling okay? You look out of it."

"No, I didn't hear anything," Yugi replied, ignoring Yami's second question. "I did have a rough night though, I guess. Thanks, for...you know; letting me stay here with you and all."

"It's not a problem, you're welcome any time," Yami smiled at him.

Yugi watched him curiously for a minute before finally saying, "You seem cheerful about something."

"And I still say you look out of it."

The younger sighed, knowing he couldn't lie to Yami after everything the elder did for him. He shook his head and resting his head against the back of the couch, "I feel like crap." Just as he finished he felt another wave of dizziness wash over him and he sneezed loudly into his hands.

Yami got up to get a tissue for him, bringing the box with him. "It seems you really did have a rough night; no wonder my dad didn't wake you if you sick. I think I've got some cold medicine."

"Thanks," Yugi wheezed, noticing for the first time how stuffy his nose was.

"Some extra blankets too," Yami said as he stood up and headed down the small hall.

Yugi watched him disappear before carefully leaning over for the plate Yami left behind. Munching on a piece of bacon slowly he waited for his older look-a-like to come back.

"Here," the crimson-eyed teen placed a small measuring cup of a sticky-looking purplish-red liquid in Yugi's unoccupied hand. "Uh....I'll get you something to drink with that. Sorry I couldn't get you pills, I'll have to go out later to get some." He came back with a glass of milk.

"Thanks," the younger nodded gratefully, swallowing the fowl tasting medicine before eagerly drinking the milk Yami handed him. "It doesn't matter how much I take that stuff, I'll never get used to it."

Yami laughed, nodding agreeably. "I know the feeling. I'm just glad I don't have work today or I'd call in for the day off."

"Why?"

The older gave Yugi a look that clearly said 'need I answer that?'

"Sorry, I should've figured you wouldn't want to leave me like this, especially after last night. Probably afraid I'll try to skip town again."

Yami was shocked at the answer, but quickly took Yugi in his arms and held him tightly, "Never ever think that, Yugi. I'm not scared you'll try to leave, I'm sure I would, but I trust you more than even myself. I know you won't leave because you're not that kind of person. Please, prove me right, Yugi, please. I can't stand to lose you."

"What are you trying to say, Yami," Yugi asked, slightly scared of what he was hearing. _'This can't be the same person I've been meeting at the park dumping and picking up girls every chance he gets, can it?'_

"I'm saying that I care for you probably more than is safe, but that doesn't stop me from doing it all the same," he than stood and started down the hall again.

"I thought you didn't believe in love," Yugi derisively said, instantly regretting what he said and how said it when Yami froze in his tracks.

The younger was replied with a gruff tone saying, "I don't and never think that I do for you or anyone else," Yami than started down the hall again and slammed a door behind him.

Yugi never could've seen the frightened look in Yami's eyes as he replied or the tears starting to track down his face after he slammed the door. The younger could've wished for a quiet moment for him to suffer in, but instead he had a sneezing and coughing fit.

The crimson-eyed didn't stay away long. He allowed his worry and concern for Yugi's health get the better of his stubbornness. At first he ignored Yugi, but then joined him on the couch when Yugi nervously asked him to watch a movie with him.

It started innocently enough, Yami knew it had. They were both sitting on separate ends of the couch with Yami leaning against the pillow Yugi had used for the night and Yugi bundled up warmly in a blanket. Somewhere in the middle of the second movie the younger had gotten the chills and another coughing fit and Yami helped to warm him by letting him snuggle up next to him. Towards the end of the same movie both were slightly uncomfortable with the position and Yami had ended up laying down with Yugi laying in front of him. By the time the credits started rolling, both were asleep with their limbs entangling with each other and the younger turned to face Yami.

They might've fallen asleep comfortably, but waking up was a completely different story. The first thing Yugi noticed was that his and Yami's lips were close enough to be considered a butterfly kiss, the older's arms were entwined around his waist and a leg was thrust between his own. Yami easily noticed the same and, as quickly as he could, tried to move away. His only succession at getting away was pushing Yugi off the couch accidentally and, with the blanket wrapped in tangles around his legs as well as Yugi's, ended up with him laying on top of his younger look-a-like, both blushing madly for their embarrassing predicament.

"Yugi, I-I am so sorry about this. I never, I mean I didn't..."

Before Yami got the chance to finish his stuttering and going-nowhere apology, Yugi unsurely lifted his head and did something he'd been urging to do somewhere in the back of his mind for a while.

The unexpected kiss did wonders in shutting Yami's ramblings off and, after getting over the initial shock, closed his eyes and let himself be lost into the softness of Yugi's mouth moving against his.

When the need for air became an actual need the two separated, staring intently as they gasped silently for breath. When the quietness of it all finally became too intense Yami broke it.

"What...just happened?"

"I think we just shared a kiss together," Yugi paused for a second to touch his fingers to his lips, a small blush and smile warming his cheeks, "and from what I felt we enjoyed it." Of course, to ruin the moment, a few sneezes tickled his nose afterwards, but fortunately it was only a small tickle and didn't end up sneezing all over Yami.

The older slowly pushed away from Yugi and stood up, offering a hand to help Yugi up. "I'm not even sure why it happened."

"It's usually something that two people who care about each other in some way or another share." After he said that a frightened look came over Yugi's face and he shoved Yami away from him forcefully, running to the window and looking away, memories of Duke flashing in front of his face and how he betrayed him to Joey's little sister.

'_Betrayed,'_ Yugi bitterly laughed at himself, _'You can't betray someone like that. Duke didn't even know I loved him let alone liked him like that. I bet he was laughing it up all morning when he read that dumb excuse for a goodbye note I left him, if he even went to the room.'_

"Yugi," Yami interrupted the younger's thoughts.

"Sorry," Yugi looked away from where Yami was looking at him.

"You looked liked you just saw something you rather wouldn't have seen."

"More like heard, but same concept, I guess."

The older was silent for a minute before something seemed to click. "Yugi, what made you want to leave so urgently last night?"

Yugi finally looked at Yami, tears tracking down his face as he blinked them away from his eyes. He looked at the floor and watched his shoelaces with interest as he explained about how he'd been unhappy about certain things in his life and how he wished they would change and also about Duke and the phone call he'd eavesdropped on accidentally. In the end, Yugi was sobbing hysterically into Yami's shoulder while the older rubbed his back soothingly and whispering things like, "I'm here," and, "I won't let you get hurt again."

When Yami felt Yugi sag heavily against him he knew the younger had blacked out from pure exhaustion. He smiled softly before he picked the younger up carefully and carried him to his bedroom, letting him rest in his room for the night.

Hey all, I am SOOOO sorry for the longest delay I've ever had in my entire writing career. I had no idea what to do for like three weeks after I wrote the eighth chapter and I finally thought of some really good ideas over the last couple days, but I didn't know how to put them. I hope you're happy with the outcome .

Confused about Ryou and Bakura? You'll find out some time or another. It seems strange now, but all will be explained. I had to put them in there because 1) it just seemed better to get a reaction from him after what happed with Yugi "leaving town" and 2) a lot of people were asking about what happened to him. I know it wasn't much, but I hope that makes at least some of you happy.

Once again, I apologize greatly for the long wait and I'll try not to do it again, but I can't promise anything.


	10. Going Home

Yugi was watching morning cartoons the next day with a blanket laying beside him and a pillow resting in his lap. He felt much better that day than the previous day so he was forced to give credit to the disgusting poison some doctors like to call cold medicine.

"You look better," Yami said from the hallway entrance.

"Feel better, too."

"That's good."

"Yami, are you upset with me?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because of what I did yesterday; kissing you didn't seem like the best thing to do with a cold, but I couldn't help myself."

Yami was silent for a while before he slowly shook his head at the younger. "I can't say I'm upset with you since I've wanted to do it too. But...but now that I have I can't seem to forget it...forget about you."

Yugi quickly looked up at his older look-a-like, shocked that he'd admitted something like that to him just like that. "You said you cared about me, Yami. What did you mean by that? Just as like older brother looking out for younger brother? Or was it..."

"Something more," Yami completely the sentence, "Yeah, I do. I know I said I don't believe in love because I've never felt...never felt that spark before that people get when they're in love. I don't feel butterflies in my stomach when I see someone; I don't get excited when I hear them on the phone. I don't get all caring and sentimental towards anybody. It was a real shock when I found myself anticipating your visits to the park."

"I thought you went to the park to pick up girls," Yugi questioned.

"I do...did. After meeting you and talking to you I couldn't find it in me to do that to girls anymore; I couldn't do it to anybody. I've tried and I couldn't do it. You're face keeps invading my mind. Everybody needs release, Yugi, some more so than others. With all the stress I thought this was the only thing that I could control in my life anymore. Picking up girls and using them to my disposal seemed like the only sensible thing to do at the time. Than I found out someone had it for a job and they didn't want it, you wanted to make something for yourself and try to stay alive even if that meant selling your body to strangers when I did it for fun. Finding out someone had it harder than me really shocked me, though I didn't let it show at the time. I felt so stupid, but I wanted to keep seeing you."

"So because you didn't find love in anybody so far you thought it was okay to go around flirting with people and made them think they had a real chance when you were really just using them for sex?" Yami regrettably nodded. "That's low, Yami. I didn't anybody could get bad, but you just proved me wrong. Congratulations, Yami, you've been voted as the leader of the many jerks I've met in the past." With that, Yugi stood, tossing the blanket and pillow to the floor, and headed for the door after retrieving his small bag of belongings.

Yami was surprised by the sudden action before realizing that Yugi was leaving and quickly asked, "Where are you going? You're cold could come back."

"I'd rather be sick than get better while living with someone who takes advantage of peoples' feelings like you have."

"Why are you so upset, Yugi?"

Yugi spun on his heel and glared at Yami. If looks could kill.... "You want to know why I'm so upset about learning how you spent your free time when you could be making something of yourself while you had the chance? Yami, my first time with someone was with my best friend because they wouldn't allow virgins at the whorehouse. I let something that was supposed to be one of the most important things in my entire life down to the dumps because I refused to live with what I was given at my place."

The older was shocked. This wasn't the Yugi he'd come to know and talked with for hours while just walking around and having fun times with. This one looked much different, a lot older, stress and despair forced behind large, innocent eyes. Is this what was showing all along and he refused to acknowledge it or was the younger so good at hiding his feelings that Yami could've never seen?

"Yugi...I-I..."

"Save it, Yami. I didn't think things could get any worse after what happened to me last night, but I was wrong. Added with that and now this I really don't think I'd mind going back home."

"I'm sorry, Yugi. I never meant to hurt you. I mean I-I can tell your hurt or else you wouldn't be so pissed off at me, obviously," He chuckled uneasily.

"Do you find this so funny to laugh about, Yami? Or are you just enjoying the thought that I don't enjoy sex as much as you do. I'll admit it, I'm a whore, I sell my body as a living. Now I'm going to change. I'll never love again and I'll never let anyone into my life for as long as I live. Goodbye, Yami. Have a good life, or as good as you can with a conscience or lack thereof, as you can." Yugi spun and ran out the door, forcing back tears as he fled from the only other friend he had.

Yugi didn't even realize he was at the station until the lady at the ticket booth asked where he wanted to go. He hadn't known he was that out of it because of his argument with Yami.

'_How could I have gotten so upset over something so trivial? Why should it matter to me what Yami does with his life? I never should've gotten attached. And what was I thinking when I kissed him? When I get home I'll make sure this never happens again.'_

He told the lady the name of the city, already feeling the coldness of his fear seeping in through the barriers he'd built around his mind when he ran away. Home was the last place he wanted to be at the moment, but he really didn't want to stay here and he had no where else to go where he'd know he'd have some kind of shelter and way to live. He paid for his ticket and then walked dismally over to a deserted bench to wait for his train, dreading what was bound to be in store for him.

Yugi knew he must've blacked out again when the shriek of a whistle broke him from his daze. He looked at the splintered clock by the ticket booth and then at his ticket before gathering his tattered bag and heading over to the train. He gave his ticket to the man at the entrance, taking his half after it was checked and ripped before heading inside.

He looked around bleakly at the aged interior of the train before heading over to an unoccupied area and sat down on one of the benches. Looking around he noticed a lone book that must've been forgotten by somebody who last rode the train. There was a tatty, faded red bookmark somewhere in the middle of the book and Yugi was easily reminded of himself. Alone and forgotten, broken beyond repair and fading from existence very much like that bookmark; stuck only in the middle of life and not going anywhere.

'_Where do I go from here? Am I just supposed to go home and waste away in my bound to be barren room to be completely forgotten and invisible or will I have to work like Ya- like he did,'_ Yugi deterred from thinking of Yami's name, not wanting to be reminded of him.

Somewhere during the ride Yugi fell asleep, but was startled away by the same shrill cry of the train's whistle announcing the arrival at the next stop. He quickly looked out the window for some sign of where he was and was slightly surprised he slept for so long when he saw the recognizable looking and unpromising sign of his hometown where he'd ran from.

Malik startled awake with awake, feeling hot tears burning into his already red-rimmed eyes. He jumped when he felt warm fingers trickling along his back and he looked over his shoulder to see Marik looking up at him with a concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong, love?"

"I-I'm not sure," Malik admitted after a moment of silence.

"It looked like you were having a nightmare. What happened?"

The younger glanced around the room with a confused look on his face. When his eyes landed on a picture that was taken a few years ago with him and Ryou on both sides of...

"Yugi," He whispered, whimpering slightly as the memories flooded over him. "He left," More tears ran down his eyes at the memory.

"It's best not to think of it, Malik," The older told his lover, sitting up and wrapping his arms around the younger.

"No," Malik said, looking at him, "In my dream he left again. He knew I was there and he wasn't listening to what I was saying to him. And then he...he..." He began to break down crying into Marik's bare chest.

Marik sighed and rocked back and forth, whispering soothing words to his lover. "Don't worry, Malik, I'm sure you haven't seen the last of him."

"I'm a terrible friend, Marik. I wish I never existed than maybe..."

"Don't, Malik, just don't," Marik said forcefully, gripping his arms tightly to make sure he was listening. "Don't ever say something like that. He never left because of you, Malik wouldn't do that, I know it and so do you."

"If I hadn't introduced Yugi to Duke than he might not have ever fallen in love with him in the first place. It was because of me that they got close to each like they did," Malik continued to blame. Marik could feel him start to shiver a bit and he quickly became worried. This had only happened once before, but not as badly as this.

'_It was because of me this happened the first time,'_ Marik thought to himself, remembering a couple days after he had raped Malik. **Malik had repeating nightmares about what had happened, each time getting worse than the other. His young lover had gone into a fit after a short while and had ended up in the hospital. He didn't remember exactly what the doctor called it, but remembered it was a lot like after shock where Malik's brain would conjure up images that scared him and then he's started shaking uncontrollably and would end up hyperventilating and making himself sick. **

**When Malik had found out when he came out of it a few days later he had almost gone into it again when thinking that he caused so many people to worry about him. Marik was lucky to get him out of it and after that whole ordeal neither Malik nor Marik appreciated hospitals very much, even if they did save his life. **

Marik was pulled from his when the shivering bundle in his arms started breathing slightly harsher and was quivering a little faster. Panic surging threw him, Marik held Malik tighter in his arms and begged him with everything he had to come back to him.

"Please, Malik, don't make me take you back there. Come back to me, please, I don't want to lose you."

The shivering decreased slightly, but it was still bad. Thinking hard he remembered about the pills the doctor had given him for something like this. He only wished it wasn't too late.

He jumped off the bed and started searching through all the dresser drawers and on the small desk. Marik was beginning to think that Malik had thrown them out when he pulled open the last drawer, causing it to fall out completely, and saw the bottle sitting on top of some books. He fiddled with the lid for a second before he finally managed to get it popped off and quickly tipped one of the pills into his hand.

Dropping the bottle on the desktop, not caring if they spilled or not at the moment, and rushed over to Malik who looked even worse from what he looked at only a minute ago. Trying not to let himself drown in the sea of his worry he forced his lover's mouth open and pushed the pill in, making sure he swallowed, and held onto tightly praying that it wasn't too late.

After a couple minutes the quivering deceased and the breathing slowly went back to normal. Marik breathed a sigh of utter relief and held onto Malik all the more tighter, thanking anybody who was listening repeatedly.

Malik blinked his eyes with confusion. He didn't understand why Marik was acting like he had in the hospital those years ago... unless...

"Marik," He whispered with fear tinting his voice, "I-I did it again, didn't I?"

Marik nodded against his back, rocking them back and forth, his eyes looking as though he were in a distant place.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Malik, please just don't. You came back to me and that's all that matters."

The younger wanted to argue that if he wasn't such a nut case that wouldn't have happened, but seeing the look on his lover's face stopped him from saying anything. He just nodded and enjoyed the warmth that was Marik around him.

Ryou sat in his bedroom, watching his lover who was currently asleep on the bed. He had a soft smile on his face as he moves his white locks from his face, enjoying the angelic, unguarded face of his Bakura.

He turned back to face his desk, looking sadly at the pills his white-haired lover had taken to go to sleep. He remembered the first time he had tried to get Bakura to get to take his pills. He'd thrown such a fit and beat him badly, but after a few hours the headaches got to him and he'd ended up taking them. The pills probably saved his life just as much as Bakura's sanity.

Ryou read the label on the tacky orange color of the plastic and sighed at it. He jumped slightly when he heard Bakura mumble, but his lover just turned over and went back to sleep. He shook his head and turned back to the label.

The white-haired teen felt hot tears come to his eyes as he remembered all those times he didn't know what to do when Bakura got into his rages. Both he and Bakura had ended up in the hospital about a year ago.

'_Almost a year to this date'_ Ryou thought, glancing at his hastily pen made calendar on a lined piece of paper tacked to the wall.

**Bakura had been yelling at him and calling him all sorts of things that tore Ryou's heart apart further and further. He didn't understand what had gotten into his lover. He'd been so sweet for so long, but then he just started yelling at him and sometimes even hitting him. He just couldn't take it that day and ran away from him. He knew Bakura was following him, but he didn't let that stop him from running. His tears swimming in front of his eyes and falling down his cheeks were blinding him and his head was drowning with all the cruel things Bakura had been screaming so ruthlessly at him. With everything going on he had never noticed the car coming at him or Bakura's shouts for him to stop.**

Ryou flinched as he remembered how much pain had run through his being when he was hit. What hurt him more was when he noticed a body next to his and felt arms around him and a warm wetness running down his neck. Just before he blacked out he looked over his shoulder and saw Bakura lying next to him, already unconscious.

**Ryou had woken up a few days later, according to the doctors, and Bakura had woken up the day before that. He'd had it explained that, Bakura had told his story about what happened, Bakura had gotten to him just as the car was about to crash into him and ended up running into the both of them at the same time. The doctors had also told him that his lover admitted to some of the terrible things that he'd done for the past few months to Ryou and that he was scared about how he just couldn't control himself. All that day they were going to be going through a few tests to find out what was going on with Bakura. Ryou was worried for him, but he'd been told he should rest and try not to think about it, that nothing bad would happen. **

**The next day Ryou was told the results of Bakura's testing came in and that his lover had somewhat of a mental disease due to his stressful living conditions. His parents' addicts of drugs and drinking constantly had filled his mind and a violent nature had been born because of it. Bakura was unable to control that nature and unleashed it at random times. The white-haired teen was scared that Bakura would be taken away from him, but he was more relieved than he'd ever been in his life when the doctor told him that Bakura would be able to live normally as long as he took his pills.**

**As it was though, Bakura didn't want to believe it and was in denial for a couple weeks. Only when he actually looked at what Ryou was putting up with every time he got back in control of himself did he start crying and praying to Ryou to not leave him.**

When Bakura came to him one day and said that he'd promised to take the pills from then on Ryou had been completely ecstatic about it and had actually jumped on his lover and covered him in kisses.

Tears mingled with the many others on his desk and Ryou jumped slightly when he saw the memories still brought tears to his eyes. Warm arms wrapped around his shoulders and his tears were kissed away with slightly dry lips.

"What are you thinking about, love," Bakura whispered into his ear.

"It's nothing, just letting myself go off into different places," Ryou lied. Bakura hated him thinking about all that had happened since it made him feel guilty and end up crying too. His lover liked to feel as though he was in control and protective and Ryou would do anything to make sure he was happy.

"As long as you're not hurt."

"Never, Bakura, not when I have you."


	11. Welcome to Town

Yugi stepped off the train and into the dankness of the station. He looked around before adjusting his bag on his shoulder and moving on.

'_Looks the same as it did when I left,'_ Yugi thought glumly.

The trek down the road was as he always remembered it as well, uneventful and lonely.

'_I just hope they haven't moved and, if they haven't, that they'll take me back in.'_

He saw the old burger joint that wasn't much a joint anymore. It had been destroyed by a group of teens about five or six years back. They made the gas leak and lit a match next to it. Naturally, like most people who lived in this part of town, they were stupid and ended up being exploded with the entire restaurant. The amethyst-eyed teen kept moving.

The places and streets he passed reminded him of too many painful things, but he didn't have any other choice. He had no where else to go and... the place he was at he couldn't stay in.

He passed by his old school and quickly turned away from it, running past as fast as he could. That had been his only place of solace from his parents' fighting, but even then he wasn't safe. Bullies there picked on him ruthlessly and he did everything he could to make them leave him alone. That had also been the place where the principle told him about his sister's murder. He would never forgive or forget her 'boyfriend' for what he did.

Continuing on down the street Yugi saw a few of the regular hang outs were shutdown with yellow tape and orange cones. He shivered as he realized nothing had changed. His old hometown was still as dangerous as ever with murders and druggies, the place still scared him half to death, but he had no other choice but to be there.

Moving into his old neighborhood and saw his still shabby as ever house and ran towards it. He walked slowly up the dirt filled path, careful not to trip over rocks or the tree roots that uplifted over the years. Shaking with fear, he knocked lightly on the door, praying they were there but wishing they weren't.

And old woman answered the door and glared at him through the small crack she provided herself, unwilling to unchain the door from the wall.

"Uh...hello, m-ma'am," Yugi stuttered, unable to tear away from her burning stare.

"What do you want, boy," She spat at him, literally.

Yugi refrained from stepping away and ignored the spit that was soaking into his clothes. "Well, I...you see..."

"Spit it out, I haven't got all day," she growled.

"S-sorry to bother, you m-ma'am. I was wondering if you knew a M-mrs. Motou that u-used to live here."

"Go away, you brat. I haven't the time to be bothered with you. Get out of here before I call the police!" She slammed the door leaving Yugi to walk slowly back down the path to slump defeatedly on the sidewalk.

'_Well, that was useless. They moved and now I don't know where...'_

"Yugi," A female's voice called from a car he hadn't noticed pull beside him. "Is that you, Yugi?"

Violet eyes looked up in confusion into dark eyes that belonged to a woman he didn't recognize. Somehow though, he seemed to feel a sense of familiarity.

"I'm Isis; don't you remember me," she tried to help.

A light lit up in Yugi's head and he jumped up in surprise. "Isis, is it really?"

The woman smiled, nodding delightedly. "I'm glad you remember me. I wasn't sure whether to believe it was you or not. I thought you had left for good all those years ago. What are you doing here after so long?"

Isis was a woman who always seemed very sad about things she kept to herself. She moved in a couple years before Yugi ran away and was the only one who cared enough to worry about Yugi's living. He'd been upset to leave her, but he doubted she would ever remember him if she got the chance to be with her. She often spoke of a brother, but he never learned his name, only that he too had runaway years ago and never spoke and saw him again.

"Some bad things happened where I was and I didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm afraid coming here was useless though since my parents don't live here anymore."

"Actually," Isis paused looking away to stare at the passenger's seat, "Hop in."

Yugi was confused, but knew he could trust her so he got in and buckled the seat belt.

She put the car back in drive and started down the street. "After you left and it became evidentially clear you weren't going to be returning anytime soon your parents moved to a smaller house, not needing the extra space anymore. At least, that's what they bragged out to the town when people asked why they just went to a different house for no reason. It's not like there was anything wrong with the old house and they stayed in the neighborhood so it just rose some confusion."

"I see," Yugi looked out the window, "So they didn't expect me to come back?"

"Not really," Isis replied sadly. She stopped in front of an ugly brown house where the lawn was a dead brown and grey and the house itself looked as if it were going to fall apart.

"This is it. Want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine." Yugi gathered his back and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Good luck, Yugi. It was really nice seeing you again, too. And if you need anything I'm only a couple blocks away from you now."

Yugi nodded and waved as she drove off. Taking a breath, he turned and headed to the door. He knocked just quietly as before and tried to calm his racing heart.

Slowly, the door opened revealing his mother's face. She didn't seem to recognize him, or maybe she just had too much to drink if the bottle in her hand was anything to go by.

"Who are you," she slurred.

"I'm Yugi, your son, mom," Yugi sighed, knowing nothing had changed but the scenery. He constantly had to remind his parents who he was when he still lived with them, even more after his sister died and didn't have her to stand up for him anymore.

Once he'd even gone to the kitchen for breakfast and his mother had screamed bloody murder, his father running in with a shot gun a minute later demanding to know what was wrong. She screamed that someone was trying to steal and called Yugi a thief. Yugi never spoke so fast to explain anything in his entire life. He was lucky that time, but he wasn't sure how many times he'd be able to save himself before he was killed.

"Oh, the brat that ran away. What do you want?"

Yugi looked down, knowing he hadn't been missed. "I want to come back."

"Why should we let you back," his father's gruff voice answered him. "You're the one who left to go take care of yourself. What's the matter, ran out of money you stole or whatever."

"No, sir, I'd rather not talk about it."

The familiarly cool touch of his dad's gun touched his forehead and he forced himself not to shiver away from it. "You won't leave again then, you understand, boy?"

"Yes, sir," Yugi agreed, feeling tears appear in his eyes and not caring if they fell. He was as good as a broken doll now. He was forever trapped in the house now, forced to be forgotten and constantly stared at like garbage unable to be rid of because of obligations.

"And you'll do your share of the work."

"Yes, sir."

"Fine then. There's no room for you so you've got either the attic with the rats or the basement with the pipes."

'_Be chewed on while I'm sleeping or go crazy from dripping pipes. I'll take my chance of going to the insane asylums.'_ "Thank you, sir." After his parents moved out of the way he headed for the basement door and moved slowly down the stairs.

"It's your job to see if dinner's ready cause we won't come get you, boy. If you miss any of the meals that's your problem and you'll just have to wait. We don't have the time or money to be feeding slackers. Is that understood," his father growled as Yugi descended the steps.

"Crystal, sir," Yugi called back up. _'I can see that your booze and your drugs is much more important than a son who saw you as his last hope for living.'_

Yugi found an old, beat up mattress shoved in a lone corner of the basement and knew that was the best it was going to get. He pulled it out and laid it flat on the concrete floor. Testing it out he found one of the springs right in his mid-back was broken and no way around it. He sighed and looked around for something sharp.

He found a screw driver and set to work on opening the mattress and tearing out the broken spring, throwing it into a trashcan by the staircase before using the last bit of duct tape on a role by the door to seal the hole shut. He tested it out and it was the best it was going to get.

The violet-eyed teen pulled his duffel bag opened and shuffled through it. He found the small picture he had of himself, Malik, and Ryou all when they were best friends and inseparable at the whorehouse (unless working, of course).

'_I'll miss you, guys. I'm sorry I had to leave, but I couldn't stay where there were too many bad memories.'_

"_So you just go to a place where there's even more,"_ The little voice in his head countered back. Yugi pushed it away forcefully and laid down on the mattress, curling up into a ball and closing his eyes tightly.

'_If I'm lucky, the one who's supposed to be watching over me will take me away from this place forever.'_

Ryou sat watching the back of his love's head as Bakura watched the small TV in the corner of his bedroom. He loved watching Bakura when he was calm like this...

"What kind of an idiot are you?! You don't just let the girl run off like that, are you mad!?"

The younger sighed and shook his head, _'So much for being calm.'_ "Bakura, love, you need to calm down. It's just a show and a rerun at that, you know what's going to happen."

"I know, Ryou, but I can't help it sometimes." Bakura looked over his shoulder to look at him, "If it were me, I never would've let the one I love just run away from me, especially after a big fight. I'd want to sort it out as soon as possible so there's no misunderstanding."

Ryou blushed and looked away from a second. "Maybe you should watch something else then. You've still got about half an hour before you can start messing around again."

Bakura scowled and glared at the TV. The only bad thing about his pills was that he couldn't get excited too much or his system would end up having a bad reaction. He was just glad it was only an hour every day that he had to stay quiet because he hated sitting still for very long. "Fine," he finally grumbled, "I promise to stay quiet."

"You better or I'll change the channel whether you like it or not. I don't care if this is one of the five channels that actually come through the antenna or not."

"But you have to sit in my lap."

"What?"

"I'll be quiet if you sit in my lap. That way I'll have something soothing to hold and help calm me down when this guy messes up again."

Ryou rolled his eyes, but scooted off his desk chair anyway. He loved these moments of the day. In fact, this was usually how he ended up keeping Bakura calm most of the time after he woke up from the pill's effect. He'd end sitting or cuddling with Bakura on the bed just talking to him in 'that soothing voice' Bakura just loved. It worked a lot of the time, but Bakura sometimes wanted to watch TV too, in which case Ryou mostly had to turn it off about half way through the hour because of the very reason he was moving into his lover's lap.

After getting comfortable in between Bakura's lap Ryou felt his love's arms wrap around him and he looked up at the screen, knowing he was about to regret what he was doing when this day was through. The couple was now arguing again and the hold around his waist was getting tighter as Bakura forced himself to control his temper.

'_This is going to be a long half an hour,'_ Ryou concluded.

"Marik," Malik asked dully from where he laid.

"Hmm."

"You're still here, aren't you," he asked, slightly afraid he wasn't.

"Yes, love. I'm still here just like I always will be."

"Are you mad at me?"

"For what?"

"You know, what I did?"

"Malik," Marik pressed his lips to the back of his neck, letting them drift across the skin as he continued, "I could never blame you or be upset with your for something you can't control."

Malik was silent before a slight nod was answered and the younger shifted to face his lover. "I'm sorry. I just can't help but think I'm burdening you with all my problems."

"One problem, but it doesn't make you any less perfect in my eyes, Malik. How do you feel," he asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Better, thanks. Can we get out of here?"

"Go where then?"

"I don't care, anywhere but this room though."

Marik glanced at the clock and nodded. "I've probably got a zillion phone calls on that blasted answering machine, but I think they can wait a little longer. Let's go for a walk around the park."

The younger nodded wanting to go anywhere right then. They both dressed warmly and stepped out into the cool air.

"Thanks for coming with me."

"I wouldn't be leaving you alone so soon after an attack, Malik."

"I know you wouldn't and I appreciate that. I'm lucky to have someone like you with me."

"I'm the lucky one, Malik, trust me."

They walked around to the park in silence and sat watching the last of the visitors walk around and converse with each other. They watched as two teens were throwing a Frisbee back and forth. The orange disk caught in the wind though and nearly landed on Malik's lap, but slipped to the ground instead.

The younger of the two picked it up and glanced at Marik pleadingly.

"Go on, Malik; just because you're sick doesn't mean you can't play. Have some fun before we head back."

A bright smile was his answer and Malik jumped off the couch and ran over to the two boys with the Frisbee in hand. The boys were soon laughing and throwing the disk back and forth energetically.

Marik watched his lover with a soft smile on his face. He was glad that his true love didn't get so sick that he still couldn't do things someone his age should be doing. He knew that Malik hated the whorehouse with a passion, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. He knew that his younger half had an older sister living on her own somewhere, but he also knew that Malik lost complete contact with her after running from home. Marik was sure he regretted it sometimes, not having some sort of family member to contact once in a while like Joey did, but he'd always be there for him when he needed him.

"Hey, are you all right?" It was one of the boys playing Frisbee.

Marik focused back on his love and saw that he was starting to drag a bit on his movements. He stood and walked over to him, helping him to stand straight. "Sorry, guys, but I think he's worn out now. Maybe you'll be able to hang out later, but it's been a trying day for the both of us."

"Okay, dude, get better soon okay. It was cool hanging out with you," the second boy told him as they started to walk off towards the whorehouse again.

I know this wasn't the best chapter I could've done and I'm going to see if I can fix it up a bit later. I figured I was keeping you guys waiting long enough for chapters these days so here's a little gift. I'll fix it up though if I find out how to. If you've got any ideas I'd be very appreciative for the help. . I was told I was doing a great job with the whole Malik and Ryou things and to try working on them a bit more so I'm going to try to do that also without having to ruin the whole plot. I'm just going to wriggle them, since I seem to have already emphasized on them a lot more than I had originally planned. To tell the truth, this story isn't anything like how I wanted it, but it's definitely a lot better than I had wanted it to be, so I'm glad about this.

I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far and if you've got any suggestions you'd like to make go right ahead.


	12. Discoveries

Malik was awake all night, worried for his best friend. He didn't know what to do and he didn't even know where to begin looking for him. All he knew was that Yugi took the train north, but there were many stops that he could've taken after that. Malik was tempted to actually ride the train until he found Yugi, but he knew that no matter how much he got paid as a whore he'd eventually run out and end up stranded somewhere all alone. Plus, he didn't want to worry Marik anymore than he had.

'_Actually, I don't want to worry him at all, but with this stupid mental problem that's a little too hard to do. In fact, it's just short of impossible to do most of the time.'_ He sighed and rolled over, wishing that his lover was with him, but Marik had said he had a lot of work to do catching up on all the phone calls he'd been neglecting.

The Egyptian rolled over once more, pulling his blankets even closer as though he were cold. His eyes landed on a small picture on his desk of him and Yugi along with Ryou all crowded in the hallway. It had been a spur of the moment picture, but all were willing to take it nonetheless. The picture had been given to him after it had been developed and Marik had copied it for Ryou and Yugi afterwards. Ryou had it on his billiard board in his room and Yugi kept his in his wallet.

He was startled when his door creaked open and Marik peaked in. Glancing at his clock, Malik noted it was close to five in the morning and he wondered what Marik was doing up that early.

"Malik, are you up?"

"Yeah," he answered in a false tired voice so Marik would think he got some sleep that night.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was already up."

"Oh," Marik looked away for a second and his lover instantly became worried. The owner of the whorehouse was definitely acting stranger than usual and he couldn't help but think that something was up. "I need to show you something. It's really big."

"Okay," Malik got out of bed, bringing his blanket with him and wrapped it around his shoulders, knowing how cold the place could get early in the morning.

"I was listening to the recordings that I've missed this past week and you wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"What did you find," Malik asked curiously.

"You know Duke, right; Duke Devlin," he asked his lover.

"Yeah, Yugi likes him. What's wrong with that?"

The question wasn't answered as they entered Marik's office and the older sat down gesturing for Malik to take a seat as well. When Malik was settled Marik pushed play on the recorder and the voice of Duke Devlin came on, begging Yugi, anybody, to answer the phone. That wasn't the only message like that either. After that one there were at least ten or so more where Duke begged Yugi to talk to him and let him explain about some girl named Serenity.

"Wait a minute," Malik jumped out of his chair as yet another message of Duke came on. "Yugi asked about some girl named Serenity and if Joey had a sister by that name. That was when he ran out and went for the train station." He ran out of the office and Marik hurried after him.

Before Marik could catch him and try to reason that Joey was asleep with Seto but his lover had already barged in the room, startling the couple awake.

"What's going on," Joey asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he lay against his own lover, looking at Malik curiously.

"This better be good," Seto growled at Marik when he saw the owner come into view.

"Trust me, it is," Malik answered. "Joey, think, you remember when Yugi asked you about your sister, right?"

The blonde was silent for a while before he finally nodded, "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

Malik sighed with relief and asked Joey to explain the conversation back to him. Confused and slightly curious as to where it would lead into them being woken up so early in the morning, Joey began telling the owner's lover how Yugi practically ran over to him and asked about his sister and that he had told his friend that he hadn't spoken to her in a while, but knew she was dating some guy who created his own high-tech game. "Or something like that," Joey finished off, "Does that help any?"

"Definitely," Malik shouted excitedly, running out of the room and heading for his own.

Before Marik could join his lover Seto demanded to know what was going on. Sighing, the owner explained about the phone calls he'd come across and how two-thirds of about twenty or so calls had been Duke trying to explain about a girl named Serenity, all recordings starting on the one night Yugi was supposed to spend the night at his crush's mansion.

When he was finally able to join his young lover again, Malik was halfway down the hall, pulling a jacket on and heading for the main door. Marik hurried over to him and stood between him and the door. "Where do you think you're going, Malik?"

"I'm going to Duke's. This has got to be straightened out and in one of those messages he said something about a note Yugi left him before he ran out of the house that same night. Maybe something in that note might be able to help us." He then shoved Marik out of his way and proceeded out of the whorehouse.

Marik knew there was no way of stopping his lover when he was this worried about one of his closest friends. He knew that Malik wasn't getting any sleep at all unless very little and that he would do anything to find his best friend again. He couldn't blame him though. Had it been one of his best friends whom he loved with everything he had he knew he would do the same thing in an instant.

Ryou startled awake at the sound of a door slamming closed. Groggy eyed he looked up and saw Bakura looking curiously outside the bedroom door. "What's going on," he asked sleepily.

"Don't know," Bakura answered, glancing back at him. "I heard somebody shout and now Malik just left with Marik; he said something about going to Duke's."

The teen was quiet for a while before he jumped up and started throwing on clothes in a hurry.

"Where are you going," Bakura demanded, cranky that he'd been woken up.

"It might be about Yugi," Ryou told him breathlessly, heading for the door. Bakura stared at where his lover disappeared down the hall for a while before sighing in defeat and throwing on a pair of pants and a jacket before going after him hurriedly. He caught up with Ryou a little after he caught up with Malik and Marik, getting the full story from them.

"Really, all those messages? Duke must've been really desperate to talk to him then," Ryou concluded, looking down the street and feeling its harsh chills before Bakura wrapped a possessive arm around him.

Yugi shivered around the tattered blanket that was supposed to warm him against the chilly night air. _'This is impossible,'_ he thought to himself, _'How am I supposed to sleep when I'm freezing to death?'_ He tossed the rag to the ground and put on a small jacket he had with him, _'Might as well go for a walk to wake up if I'm not going to get any sleep.'_

Carefully, avoiding the squeaky steps, he headed upstairs and out the front door. _'I won't be gone that long so I won't bother locking it,'_ he thought, knowing he could easily get out the windows had he wanted to keep it locked. After all, he knew his parents wouldn't give him a spare key even if he got on his hands and knees and begged for one.

Heading down the overly cracked sidewalk he couldn't help but search his back pocket for his wallet he never took from it. He opened it to the only picture he ever kept in there and couldn't help the spring of tears in his eyes. _'I miss you so much, guys. I'm sorry I had to leave.'_

He then thought back to Yami and his tears tracked down his face. _'What a stupid reason to leave,'_ He scolded himself, _'Sure, Yami could've found a better way of living than using people for sex. The other whores and...and myself should know that better than anyone. We didn't wake up one day and say, _'hey, I want to be a whore when I grow up.' _No, this was forced on us because we didn't have anywhere else to go. We don't have sex for fun at all, giving up our sacred virginity to filthy people who can't help but get off dominating other people no matter how much they have to pay.' _

Looking to the stars he sighed and thought, _'Life sucks; I don't know where to turn anymore. I feel so lost now.'_ Glancing back down at his wallet he noticed he had just enough money left for a ticket back to the city he ran from. _'Should I just go back and apologize to Yami for what I said and then keep living with him? If finding the money I need isn't enough than I don't know what is, but,'_ he paused to look down the street and around the home that he unfortunately grew up in, _'but didn't I have a good reason to be mad at him in the first place? He knew how I felt about living in the whorehouse for a living and then he blatantly admitted to using people for sex for fun. Then again,' _he glanced around again, more tears coming to his eyes as they slid down his red cheeks, _'Then again, he was admitting to me and he even said he wasn't proud of it at all. He even looked ashamed of himself.'_ Turning back towards his hell hole of a home, wiping his tears as he thought, _'Now I really don't what to do. How much more lost can one person get in one night?'_

Yami glanced around his apartment, feeling horrible for the umpteenth time since Yugi stormed out on him. He couldn't blame his small look-a-like either. Yugi continuously told him how having sex for a living was horrible and he wished there was anything else for him to do and he still did what he did without ever thinking of the consequences of his actions. He only really ever felt ashamed about when he did when he saw how upset Yugi had gotten with him.

'_I'm such a rat,'_ he admitted to himself, _'I'd do anything to get Yugi back though, but I don't know where he went.'_ Looking around once more he growled to himself, grabbing his jacked, and headed for the door. _'I've got to get out of here!'_

Malik and friends had been yelling at Duke Devlin's gate for a good fifteen minutes before one of the guards finally came out and threatened to call the police on 'you hoodlums' if they hadn't left immediately. Discouraged, Malik promised that he'd be back again and promptly left, heading down the street more determined then ever to find out what happened that night.

"Marik, can we go through the park once, please," he asked, looking up at his lover, "I don't want to go back home just yet."

"Of course, love," Marik answered, "I don't want to either anyway."

Ryou, about to fall asleep on his feet, had Bakura answer for them that they were going to go back then and get his younger lover to bed so they could sleep some.

"Don't worry about any customers tonight, Ryou. I'll hold them off until tomorrow if I can."

Ryou mumbled a near incoherent thank you before being swept off down the street by Bakura, who was holding him tightly in his arms, trying to keep him warm but comfortable at the same time.

Circling the park once had proved to tire Malik out greatly. From his lack of sleep the walk was exactly what he needed for the sleep fairy to pay him a visit at last. He was about to tell Marik he was ready to go back when a familiar head of spiky hair met his eyes and his widened in surprise. "Yugi," he shouted as loud as he could, not caring what hour of the day it was. He ran over shouting Yugi's name as loud as he could, waving his arms around like a maniac.

Yami looked over his shoulder in surprise, thinking Yugi had really come back. When he saw the person shouting heading for him however he froze. The person crashed into him, causing them both to drop to the wet ground, and a large, godly tight hug crushing the life out of the crimson eyed teen.

Marik hurried over and saw Yami's pleading 'help me' look and he pulled his lover off, disappointed in himself for having to ruin Malik's sudden rush of happiness. "Love, that isn't Yugi."

"But," tears sprang to Malik's eyes and he shook his head in disbelief, "but I really thought that..."

"I know, love, I know."

"I'm terrible sorry about all this," Yami continually apologized. "I didn't mean to cause harm to either of you."

Something in Marik's memory sparked. He had heard this voice somewhere before, but where?

"I really have to be going now. I am truly sorry."

Just as Yami was leaving Marik shouted, "Wait a minute; have we met somewhere before?"

The crimson eyed teen shook his head, slowly in confusion. "No, I'm sorry. I don't think we have."

Then Marik had it, "No! We have spoken before! You called the whorehouse a short ways from here and demanded a Yugi Motou, didn't you? I could've sworn it was your voice."

Yami was shocked but carefully nodded his head, "Yes, I did that once, a long time ago. Was that you?"

Marik nodded.

"Oh," he looked away, "I apologize, then, I didn't mean to act so rude to you on the phone. You could say I was a bit desperate to see him again."

"You met him before," Malik asked curiously.

"Yes, we were friends. He'd been living with me for a while, but he got into an argument about something and he ran off to the train station to live with his parents again."

"Might I have your number, please," Marik asked suddenly. "I know we just met, but by the way you speak I know you care for him greatly. He's Malik's best friend and he cares for him greatly. I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose Malik forever, but I'll do anything I can to save him."

Yami was skeptical at first, but remembered Yugi once telling him that he had two good friends at the whorehouse and these people definitely seemed nice enough for Yugi to become friends with. He wrote down his number on a piece of stray garbage from the ground and handed it to Marik. "Just in case my dad answers," he warned, "ask for Yami, but the chances of that are highly unlikely. The best time to call would be during the night, but if you need me in a hurry than go to the burger place in the main city," he explained.

Marik nodded and watched turn away. _'Finally,' _he thought, _'It's small, but we've finally made our first step towards getting Yugi back to his true family. I only hope that Yugi will want to come back when we end up finding him...' _He looked down at his lover sadly, who was watching with hopeful eyes as Yami walked further and further away, _'...if we find him at all.'_

**GODS PEOPLE!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN THE LONGEST TIME. I HAD THE WORST WRITER'S BLOCK EVER FOR THIS CHAPTER AND I WROTE IT LIKE A MILLION AND ONE TIMES BEFORE I FINALLY CALLED IT QUITS!!! BEFORE I REALIZED IT IT HAD BEEN LIKE TWO MONTHS SINCE THE LAST TIME I UPDATED!!! BOWS REPEATEDLY TO READERS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEEEEEEASE FORGIVE ME!!!**


	13. And Again

Malik woke up around noontime that same day. He put some warm clothes on and headed for Marik's office. He was disappointed, however, when he heard his lover speaking to what sounded to be a customer through the door. He turned on his heel and walked down the hallway for Ryou's room instead.

About to know the door, he paused when he heard his white-haired friend telling Bakura to take his pills. He turned away yet again, knowing that it wouldn't be a good time for two reasons. Firstly, because Ryou had a hard enough time getting his lover to take his pills when Bakura felt like being difficult without other people there and, two, Malik knew that after Bakura had calmed down is when he and Ryou had their own time together.

He was going to see if Joey and Seto were doing anything, but quickly decided against it after remembering having barged in on them earlier. After all, he wouldn't like to do that twice in one day, especially since he hated interrupting people in the first place.

Finally, he decided to just go outside and walk around for a while rather than waiting for his friends and lover to be free again. Sighing, he stepped outside, shivering slightly against the cold, before walking down the sidewalk with his hands shoved in his pockets dejectedly.

'_Sometimes people don't understand how hard it really is for me,' _Malik thought sadly, watching a couple go by, huddling close together to keep warm. He looked away hurriedly and continued down the street. _'I really am happy with Marik, but sometimes it's so hard to be with him because he's always really busy and when he isn't he's too busy worrying over something even though he tries not to show it. I've already given him a scare earlier when I started freaking out.'_

Seeing the park not too far away, Malik decided to hang out there for a while. Upon entering the park he saw the most surprising person to see right then heading in the general direction of the whorehouse. He was moving toward him before he knew it, his breath coming out in short pants and appearing in small puffs in the frigid air.

"Duke," he called after the person. When the person didn't turn Malik called again and was rewarded when the inventory of Dungeon Dice Monsters turned curiously to stare at his approaching form. Before Duke got a chance to say anything though Malik grabbed the shoulders of his jacket ordered in the most forceful way he could, "Tell me what happened between you and Yugi!"

The emerald-eyed creator stared in utter shock at Malik, his eyes wide and his mouth agape at first before he started opening it and closing it like a fish out of water. His eyes than hardened, piercing daggers at the Egyptian for restraining him like common trash; a criminal just released to the streets. "Don't think about telling me what to do, Ishtar. You have no right," Duke challenged back, his tone just as harsh as Malik's had been.

"I've got every right to order you around, _Devlin_," Malik told him back, "You did or said something to Yugi and I want to know what. You're the only one who could've made him as hurt as he was so I know something must've happened between you."

Duke rolled his eyes, dull with maliciousness and hate as he stared at his captor. Malik glared back with just as much valise and repulsion. Neither man made a move, choosing to stare down the other until one backed down. Finally, green wavered and lowered to amethyst, softening to fill with worry and fear; the emotions confusing Malik slightly.

At last Duke scuffed his shoe on the dirt and refused to look at the Egyptian. "Fine," he grudgingly said, his eyes narrowing in anger, directed more at himself than anything, "I'll tell you what happened, but not because you told me to. It's because you're Yugi's friend and I know you want to find him." From there the one-sided conversation went. Duke admitted everything to Malik about the phone call and the note he'd found later on to the messages he'd called. "I needed to speak with Yugi, but I couldn't come here because I was too worried about him being mad at me," He ended. "I felt horrible after Yugi left. I think I drove everyone in the mansion that saw me crazy because I kept hovering over the phone and then walking away from it before hurrying back over to it. Finally, one of my servants just shoved the thing in my hands and told me to call."

Malik stared at Duke in surprise, not expecting him to be so emotional over a mistake that seemed to be so small for the game designer. Suspicion roused within him and he just had to ask, "Duke, do...do you – you don't feel anything towards him, do you?"

The game creator quickly away from Malik, looking everywhere but at the one person he was being forced to face. Tears dropped from his eyes and seemed to freeze as they dropped to the chilly ground causing Duke to refrain from wiping them away because they reminded him of how fragile Yugi was, or had been, and how he could be breaking just like a crystal figure from how Duke had treated him. "I don't want to break anymore," Duke muttered to himself, momentarily forgetting Malik was tensely standing in front of him with an impatient look on his face as he waited for an answer to his question.

"What was that," Malik asked him, somewhat annoyed, "I couldn't quite hear that."

Duke finally forced himself up into the identical eyes of the one he'd hurt so much already. "I do," he admitted at last, "I do have feelings towards Yugi. I hadn't realized it until I got the note though. I'd always been fascinated by him and always wanted to be around him because he made me feel good about myself," Duke was sobbing now and could barely hold himself up so he just let himself collapse on the ground as he continued ranting of as he pounded the hard pavement with a fist, not caring at the stinging bite it left after each hit. "I didn't know what I was doing, but I thought I had loved Serenity so I was going to tell Yugi in the morning that I wasn't going to be able to be his customer anymore."

"So you sized him up to think it was some treat to be there," Malik shouted accusingly, fires burning within his raging amethyst eyes.

"No," Duke shouted, looking at Malik before shame overtook him once more and he continued to sob, but no longer hitting the ground. "No, that's not what I wanted at all! I wanted to be close to him, I guess, but not be at the same time! I didn't even realize his feelings towards me until I even read the note and he confessed to being in love with me!"

Malik wasn't sure what it was that set him off and his mind to begin wandering. The train station was the only thing in mind and his best friend somewhere, living with his horrible family. _'Who knows what could be happening to him,'_ he thought, tears coming to his own eyes at the horrible images playing before his eyes only. _'No! I won't let that happen! I will see him again!'_ "Train station," was the last thing he said aloud before, he turned on his heel and ran for all he was worth, leaving the crying puddle of a game creator to his shivering fit of sadness.

Marik saw Malik run from the park at high speed and was about to chase after him when he saw the initial cause of Yugi's pain huddled in the middle of the walkway. _'What the...'_ He hurried over to Duke and knelt in front of him. "Mr. Devlin, what happened? Where's Malik going?"

"I don't know," Duke shook violently, wiping his eyes so forcefully Marik believed he was trying to rub off his very skin. When it actually started turning a harsh red, even in the dimness of the lighting beneath the shade of trees, is when he grabbed Duke's hands and held them away at a safe distance.

"You'll hurt yourself if you continuing doing that. I know that if I were Yugi right now I'd be terribly upset, but I wouldn't want you to be hurt either no matter how much you hurt me. Yugi's too good of a soul for something like that. Now, please, Duke, tell me where Malik went."

"I think he said something about the train station just before he ran off," Duke told him after a minute, his voice still cracking, but not in complete hysterics.

The owner of the whorehouse and lover to Malik Ishtar froze, releasing the game creator's hands unconsciously and his eyes widened considerably. "Malik," he stood and took off on the path Malik had taken, calling his lover's name loudly.

At the station Malik was begging with the ticket booth person to remember any kind of person with Yugi's description. "Please, sir, you've just got to recognize him. There aren't many people out there that look like him. Spiked up hair with three different colors in it, violet eyes, kind of short; do you remember anybody like that?"

The man in the ticket booth scratched his gray beard and then covered his wrinkled forehead in deep thought. "Let me see," he rasped out, his voice shaky with age, "I know I was here all of last week so I had to have seen the lad." He scratched his thinning hair and suddenly his eyes widened, "Yes, I remember the boy. He seemed really depressed and didn't really have anything with him."

"Please, do you know where he went," Malik asked desperately, his heart racing and beating uncontrollably against his chest at the thought of finding Yugi and bringing him home.

"I believe it was Sin...Sin...er, it was Sin-something Park," the man scratched his balding head once more and closed his eyes in concentration.

Malik's eyes scanned the ticket board behind the man and his eyes widened at the only city with 'park' in its name. "Sinisterous Park; tell me, was it Sinisterous Park?"

"Yes, I believe that was it," he paused, "Yes, I remember now. It was Sinisterous Park that he went to. Mighty worried I was about him, I was. That place has become pretty dangerous and scarce of people living there nowa," he was interrupted when a few bills were shoved into the ticket booth and he looked up confusedly at Malik's determined place.

"I'll take a round trip one plus an extra ticket back here from there," the teen told him, his hands wavering slightly at his sides where they were clenched tightly.

"Are you..."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure. I've got to go find him," Malik intervened once again, before the man could start going off about how dangerous the place at become. He didn't have to be told to know that place was scary for anybody, even when they had already lived there. He took his tickets when they were cautiously handed to him, as if the man was trying to wait out to see if Malik would change his mind. "Thank you kindly, sir," he nodded politely, placed the tickets in his pocket and hurried to the steaming train. The whistle was already calling people aboard and Malik was going to get there as soon as possible. The faster he got to the hellhole Yugi had fled to the sooner he could save him from his parents and, possibly, a murder. Who knew what people in that horrid town would do for a few extra bills in their pocket?

However, just before Malik was going to step on the train somebody grabbed his wrist and pulled him back against a strong chest and familiar somewhat muscular arms tensed around him. Malik was surprised at first, but calmed down when he realized who was placing butterfly kisses gently on his neck. "Marik," he whispered shakily, tears coming to his eyes at the realization of what he was doing hit him.

"What do you think you're trying to do? Just leaving like that, I would've worried myself sick when I found out you left somewhere," Marik whispered into his ear, his arms tensely more firmly around him.

Malik swallowed around the ball in his throat and said in a determined, yet wavering voice, "I'm doing what feels right, Marik, and what feels right right now is that I have to find Yugi. I know I have to go get Yugi now when I've been given the chance of knowing where he went." He shifted slightly in Marik's embrace and placed a small kiss on his lover's cheek before pulling away and heading into the train.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye," Marik called after him, tears welling up in his eyes.

His lover appeared in the window with a sad, watery smile and shook his head. "I'm not going to say goodbye because that would mean I'll be gone for an extended period of time and if I do that than I'd miss you too much," he explained. He shook his head and looked down, the whistle blowing once more. "No," he said, "I'll be coming back and I will have Yugi with me. So don't cry or be sad, because your life is also mine and what you feel I do too. So wish me hope and I'll be back." The train began to move and Malik smiled one last time at his lover before he disappeared around the corner.

It was hours before the train finally stopped and the conductor called out, "Next stop! Sinisterous Park!"

Malik rose from the seat and hurried to the door. It didn't take much to notice that everyone was staring at him and nobody else was getting up. He inwardly laughed nervously and hurried out into the chilly gray air.

He immediately blanched as he looked around. The air was stale around him and he knew it wouldn't help his...condition (Malik refused to call it an illness). The entire area looked deceased and gray, even the few people waiting for the train looked like walking dead. Malik hurried along and onto the street. It didn't look any better. If anything, the air was even staler and the teen coughed as he struggled to breathe the polluted air. His chest was tight and his breathing shallow as he walked along the sidewalk, being wary of his surroundings.

The teen searched every building he believed Yugi would go to, down all the streets he came to, even resulted in shouting his name loudly many times, but he stopped as soon as glass bottles were thrown at him and people shouted at him to shut up, and none in a polite manner. _'It's a wonder how Yugi turned out how he did with the place he grew up in,'_ Malik couldn't help but think as he hurried away from the place where the bottle smashed on the pavement.

Beginning to think it was hopeless he collapsed onto a bench and let his long held back tears fall carelessly to the cracked pavement. "You shouldn't be staying there looking so vulnerable," a woman's voice reached his ears.

Malik looked up dejectedly, about to ask why, but his eyes widened and his jaw went slack as he stared the black-haired Egyptian woman standing in the same state as him in front of him. He wanted to ask; he wanted to know if this was the lady he had forgotten when he left home, but he couldn't find his voice around the large lump in his throat, still growing rapidly as more tears leaked from his eyes at the emotions racing through him in chaos.

"Hello," the woman paused uncertainly before, "brother."

Blackness crept into Malik's vision and he collapsed against the back of the bench.


	14. Closer Than You Think

Malik groaned, opening his eyes to look around him as he asked around a scratchy throat, "Where am I?"

"I thought you'd be awaking soon, brother," a womanly voice said from somewhere next to him.

Malik shifted his head slightly to look where the voice came from and his eyes widened at the familiar figure standing in the doorway, innocently turning the lights up slightly to allow some source of light to shine in the room. "I-Isis, is that really you," He asked with disbelief, sitting up quickly only to hold his head as the room began to spin around his vision.

"Be careful, brother, you had quite a fall. I'm just glad I managed to keep you from hitting your head too badly," Isis explained, sitting down on the bed next to her sibling and wrapped an around his shoulder.

"B-but how – why," The younger of the two stuttered, staring at his sister with wide eyes. "I thought I would never see you again," tears misted into his violet eyes before he left forward and hid his face in the juncture of his sister's neck and shoulder.

Isis patted her brother's back tenderly, enjoying the moment she had with her almost forgotten brother no matter how awkward it seemed. She glanced over at the nightstand where a picture of a much younger Malik smiled and waved at the person taking the picture and a small gin spread across her face. "It's definitely been a while, Malik," she finally said, albeit quietly, and enjoying the sound of her brother's name on her lips again. She had missed him greatly; believed she would never see him again and now he was with her once more.

"I don't understand. Why are –"

The woman interrupted her sibling with a raise of her hand. "Don't worry, my brother," she told him firmly, yet comfortingly, "You rest and I'll be sure to talk to you when you wake. You had quite a fall and I don't want to take you to the hospital." She stood and headed for the door, turning the lights down once more. When she saw her sibling lay down again she whispered, "After all, the doctors here are less than sanitary to trust in and my brother deserves only the best."

A memory flashed before her eyes of the time she had first said her brother deserved the best. It was when his friends made fun of him for the strange tattoo that their father had put on his back. All males in the Ishtar had them as a family tradition that was meant to do with something way back in Ancient Egypt when pharaohs still ruled the land. The tattoo was said to bring good luck and Malik was, instead, cursing it for then he had no friends because he had it. That's when Isis had first said that he didn't need friends that low because he deserved only the best. He was five then and Isis was sure that he remembered it just as well as she did, if not better. After all, right after she told him that he wouldn't stop smiling. Just that saying alone made him happy for the rest of the day and even the whole day after that.

Isis turned and headed to the kitchen to make a lunch, no matter how small it was going to be with the only grocery store in town being hijacked or shoplifted from every ten minutes.

Yugi trudged along the street, not wanting to go back to his home (his nose wrinkled at the very thought of calling that rat house _that_), but he knew he eventually had to if he didn't want the adults most people would call his parents to start yelling at him.

He raised a small, thin hand to his cheek and rubbed the visible pink mark, his whole body shaking with the thought of how he got it. He'd been late getting home from one of his walks, around twelve-thirty to one in the morning late, and his so-called father made it very clear, in the physical means, that he wasn't allowed to be out late apparently. The teen flinched as he remembered just how loud that actual smack to his face had been. His mother had watched the whole thing too and didn't seem to care. If anything, her face to show that she agreed wholeheartedly with his father.

The youth sighed for what seemed the millionth time since he'd come back to the dump he lived in. He wished his sister was still alive...but she wasn't and there was no way she was coming back.

Tears sled down Yugi's cheeks, staining his jacket he had on wit wet drops. He wanted to go home, but he didn't how he could after he left. _Yami...What would he think if he saw this place? I bet he would laugh and tell me this is where I belong after being a prostitute for all those years. _More tears slipped from his eyes and he didn't bother to wipe them away. He just looked ahead and, after noticing that his feet were leading him to the train station, he turned and headed down another street.

_I won't go back_ he thought determinedly._ No matter what I _won't _go back there. I've got to be strong a deal with my life as it's dealt to me. _

He was about to walk up the sidewalk and to the front door when he froze in his tracks and remembered to check the time. Hurrying over to one of the windows he looked around hoping for something that would tell him the time. Seeing nothing, he went around to another window, after checking the one that led into the basement to see if he could slip in that way, and grinned when he saw an old, yet working clock. He flinched as he saw it was almost midnight and was sure to get another slap in the face if he went in now. Wishing that his small basement window was open, he trudged down the street.

Then he remembered Isis and that she lived somewhere around where he was. A grin came to life on his face and he ran like a man dying of thirst going to a fountain of fresh spring water towards his good friend's house.

Marik bit his lip as he glanced at the clock. _Please be okay, Malik. Just show me some sign that you're okay right now_ the owner of the whorehouse begged, staring at the telephone and hoping it would be Malik at the next ring.

_**Ring.**_

The man literally dived at the phone and said, "Hello," almost pleadingly into it. He blanched as he heard yet another customer's voice, asking if Malik was free that night. "I'm sorry, but Malik Ishtar is away on important business at the moment," he told the person professionally, trying to choke on his words. "It's uncertain of when he'll be back, but I'll be sure to call you as soon as he's available." The man seemed to understand, unlike the last person who called for his lover, and gave his name and number so he could be contacted. Marik wrote them down, said goodbye, and hung up just before sighing into his hands.

"Anything yet," a familiar British accent asked worriedly.

Marik shook his head, "Not yet." Looking up he asked, "Where's Bakura? He never lets you wander around this place at night."

"He fell asleep watching a movie. I just wanted to know if Malik called yet."

"I'm afraid not," the other answered sadly, glancing at the phone as though it could solve all his problems.

"Don't worry, Marik," Ryou said, trying to sound encouraging. He walked over to his friend and wrapped his arms around his neck in a comforting way, "I'm sure Malik's okay and he'll come back with Yugi any day now. He hasn't been gone that long anyway. If anything, he's probably still on the train looking for Yugi's hometown."

"You're probably right," Marik replied, sounding as though he was still trying to convince himself, "Malik's fine and he'll call the minute he gets off the train if there's a phone he can use."

"That's right, nothing to worry about," Ryou straightened up and headed for the door, intent on going to sleep next to his lover.

"But Yugi said that town was like a murder's hangout," Marik started out, his eyes wide, "He could be dead in some sewer infested hole and no one would give a care about him. I'll never see him again," he finished in hysterics, eyeing the phone and practically praying to it that Malik would call soon.

Ryou rolled his eyes and went back over to his friend and boss, sitting in his lap and letting the older man wrap his arms around him. He knew this was going to be a long night. Resting his head on Marik's shoulder, he remembered once, when the two Egyptians had just had a fight and Malik wouldn't come out of his room so Ryou went to comfort the older one, that Marik said Ryou fit in his lap almost exactly like his own lover did his. He remembered his jealousy the next night too, when Bakura admitted Malik had sat in his lap just like Ryou had done to Marik and said the same thing, but his white-haired lover didn't need to know that detail. He only hoped Bakura would stay asleep all night so he wouldn't find him in this predicament and let his anger get the best of him. He knew his lover could be possessive in most cases, and he was sure this would be one to set off the alarms.

Yami collapsed in an armchair next to the phone, checking the nearly dead machine for any messages. _Nothing _he thought tiredly, _again._ He hoped Yugi's friends would've called by now, but it seemed they were as clueless as he was.

Deciding to get something to eat to take his mind off his missing crush, he pushed away from the inviting, though broken, chair and into the closet of a kitchen to find a scrap of food. _Dad needs to go shopping again_ Yami thought the second he opened the fridge and saw only three beers and a juice box left, along with a moldy apple the crimson-eyes teen wasn't going to think about touching in case it sprung to life on him. _Or worse, inside me _he shivered, knowing it was probably entirely possible from how hold the brown thing looked. He closed the door after taking out the juice box and wrote a very large note to hit dad about shopping, sticking it on the door where it impossible to miss it.

Afterwards, he trudged tiredly back to the armchair and dropped in it once more.

Marik was halfway asleep before seeing a red-eyed Yugi in his sleepy vision. Curious, at first, as to why he was seeing a strange image like that, but realization soon his him. Carefully, so as to not wake the now sleeping Ryou in his lap, he picked up the phone and dialed the number on the piece of paper with Yami's number taped next to it. He rung twice before someone picked up.

Yami nearly jumped to the ceiling when he was woken from his small dozing. Looking around in alarm he realized it was the phone and quickly picked it up before it had a chance to ring again. It wouldn't be good to have his dad somehow wake from his never ending drinking-induced sleep and end up answering the phone and not knowing who was calling. Marik might think he got the wrong number

"Hello?"

-Yami?- an unsure voice asked.

"This is him; Marik, right?"

-Yeah- the tired sounding voice assured him. –Look, I haven't found out anything about Yugi yet, but I did think I should let you know that Malik left earlier to go find him. He went on the train station a little while ago. I would've told you sooner, but-

Yami interrupted him, "No, it's okay. I understand why, really. Yugi told me it was a tough neighborhood so I can see entirely why you're worried about him."

-That's good.- A yawn, -I should go. I've been awake since he left and he'd have my head if he knew I've been awake all this time. And I'd also like to keep the line clear in case he calls.-

"Sure, no problem; thanks for letting me know."

Yugi knocked rapidly on Isis' front door, hoping to any god listening right then that his memory didn't fail in sending him to the wrong house. His prayers were answered when the long-haired Egyptian woman answered the door, staring at him curiously, before worry creased over her kind face.

"Yugi, is everything alright," she asked cautiously.

"Yes, everything's fine. Um," he paused, not sure if he was being rude by asking to stay at such short notice.

She seemed to mind read what he was saying though and stepped away from the entrance, "Come in, Yugi, it's late. What were you thinking walking around at this hour? Did you parents do something?"

"No," he answered quickly, shaking his head back and forth, "Nothing like that, but you could say it's what they would do." He shifted slightly to look behind him, as though looking at a terrible memory from the past and, by the looks of it, the not too distant past.

That's when Isis noticed the pink hue standing out vibrantly on Yugi's pale face. Her small friend didn't have to say it to know that her assumption was probably true. "It's what they will do if I go home at this hour," Yugi finally said, raising a hand to his cheek, "I learned well enough last night to not try going to that house past eleven, maybe even ten."

"It's fine," she shook her head to wave off the apology she knew would come, "You can stay here." Her brother suddenly remembered she pointed to the couch. "You'll have to sleep there though," she told him apologetically, wishing she could give him something more comfortable. "You see, my brother made a...a very unexpected visit earlier today and wasn't really knowing I was here until we happened to run into each other. It was quite a shock and he passed out completely, almost hitting his head on the sidewalk if I hadn't caught him time."

Yugi's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, "No, it's fine. Don't worry, the couch will be fine." He smiled at her, "You haven't seen your brother for a long time, right? I'm happy for you; congratulations on finding him again."

"Thank you, Yugi, that means a lot to me." She turned to the closet, "I was just about to go to bed myself. I was going to sleep on the floor next to him, if you don't mind. I would like to keep an eye on him in case he needs me. I'll help set you up first though."

The youth shook his head thankfully, "Nothing to worry about, Isis; I don't mind at all. Why don't you go get yourself settled? I'll be fine here."

After much debating, Isis finally nodded and took some blankets for herself to make a makeshift bed next to her brother's. Yugi watched her go, glad that somebody could be happy, especially if that somebody was Isis. He hasn't seen her smile for a very long time and he wanted her to stay like that for as long as possible.

He pulled out some blankets and a small pillow before closing the closet door. Yugi walked over to the couch and laid his burden down, spreading them out so he'd be warm and comfortable for the few hours left of night. Settling down he quickly became relaxed, a familiar and enjoyable presence wrapping around him and he wondered ideally if it wasn't just Isis and the familiarity of the house that was doing it, but brushing it off as sleepiness. Closing his eyes, he succumbed to unconsciousness.


	15. The Way Things Should Be?

Malik woke to the sound of someone wandering around the room. He cracked open his eyes and saw his sister packing up a small briefcase. He sat up slightly and waited for her to notice him. When she did she smiled at him and stopped gathering things, straightening up. "How are you feeling today," she asked him.

"Much better," he replied. "It's the best I've slept for a couple of weeks now."

"That's good," she smiled again. "Well, I have to get to work early this morning and I won't be back until late tonight. Are you alright with that?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine no problems," Malik shook it off. "I'll probably just hang out here, hang out by the window; the usual stuff I do." A sad expression overtook the teen's face, but it seemed to have gone unnoticed by his older sister.

She nodded and finished putting things in her small briefcase before picking it up and headed for the door. Isis turned around a second later and added, "A friend of mine spent the night here in case you happen to run into him. He can be a bit on the shy side so be nice to him."

Malik nodded and watched her go. He didn't feel like meeting anybody new right now. He just wanted to find Yugi and go home to be with his lover again with everything the way it should be. He would just stay in the room, staring out the bedroom window and praying that his best friend would turn up.

Yugi woke up to the sound of the front door closing. A note on the table caught on his eyes and picked it up. He sighed and put it down after reading it. _I guess there's no point staying here with just a stranger in the house if Isis isn't going to be here all day. _Yugi thought. He stood up made his way to the front door. With his hand on the knob his stomach growled terribly, so much that he had to hold it in hopes that it would stop hurting.

"When was the last time that I ate," Yugi asked himself. _A decent meal anyway _he added silently. _The note did say something about getting something to eat if I wanted. I'll just have something small and get home before I get into even more trouble than I already am. _

The teen headed into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards for food. He was rewarded when he found some cereal and milk. He sat down at the table after fixing himself a bowl of cheerios and ate…slowly. _The shorter time I have to spend at that hell hole the better _Yugi thought; e_specially if I'm eating. _

Malik's stomach rumbled and he muttered curses under his breath when he realized there was no going around the fact that he was hungry. He quietly opened the door and hoped that he wouldn't run into his sister's guest.

Looking down the hall, at the bathroom door, and then at the couch Malik breathed a sigh of relief. _I guess they went home already. _He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Yugi jumped slightly when he heard one of the doors in the house close. _It must be Isis' brother_ he thought after calming down a second later. _I just hope he's not a big jerk like most of the people in this neighborhood are. _He turned back to his cereal and tried not to think about the other person in the house.

Malik came out of the bathroom a second later, feeling refreshed. He headed down the hall and into the kitchen before freezing in his steps as he stared at the back of his sister's guest. His hands were shaking and his throat constricted tightly, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

_It's another trick, it has to be _Malik tried to convince himself. _That couldn't be him. It's probably Yami…_

Yugi paused with the spoon almost in his mouth and his eyes wide. He heard somebody stop behind him and it was all he could do not to just turn around and look at the person.

Malik shook off his momentary surprise, deciding that his want to see Yugi again was making his eyes see every new person at him. He tried to ignore it and stepped further into the kitchen, deciding to focus on getting something to eat.

Halfway to the refrigerator though, the teen spun on his heel and threw the chair the guest was sitting in so fast that it was a miracle the boy didn't go flying. Amethyst met violet and mouths gaped wide open. Heart beats sped up to a near impossible speed and hands shook from mere excitement.

Tears formed in the older's eyes and he buried his face in his friend's hair, holding him as though there were no tomorrow. It took but a short while for Malik to feel small, unsure arms wrap around his shoulders and small tears to drip across the bare skin on his neck.

When the two friends finally pulled away from each other after what seemed like hours to them both were surprised at the first thing said between either of them.

"What are you doing here?" It was Yugi. He wouldn't look at Malik and he forced himself not to cry again. He wasn't ungrateful that his best friend was there, but if it was on his account that Malik was in such a horrible place then he would just have to force him to go back by any means even if it meant having to be painstakingly rude to him.

"I-I came to see you again, Yugi, I came to get you. All of us miss you; we didn't want you to go. Please, please, Yugi, tell me, tell me why you left us…why you left me?" Tears leaked out from Malik's eyes as he stared at his friend. His friend who always seemed so innocent even when he clearly wasn't so with the terrible life he'd been through. _What happened to my Yugi?_

"This is my life now, Malik, why don't you go back to yours?" The teen stood and brought his dishes to the sink, cleaning them out before went over to the front door. "This place isn't safe for people like you, go home."

Malik was frozen, he didn't understand. Yugi was never so cold and dismissing before. _What happened to him?_ "Yugi, I don't know why you're acting like this, but if being in this hell zone has done this to you than I won't have it. I came here because I was looking for you so I could bring you back to where your friends are. We all miss you and want you back. I'm not leaving unless you're on that train with me."

Yugi was heartbroken. One hand on the knob and resolve set to make sure Malik left with no intention of coming back for him and now all that. _This isn't fair._ So many things were going through Yugi in this small moment, just in the short five minutes he'd been with Malik again and he was already confused why he had left in the first place. An image of Yami then flashed across his mind and he sighed. _That's right; I left because Yami and I got in a fight and I didn't know where I belong anymore. Gods, I'm so stupid. _

"How could you want me back? I'm a very good friend to have around at all," Yugi asked, knowing Malik wouldn't back down and would probably just chase after him if he tried running out the door.

"You're my best friend, Yugi. I love having you around and I always want you with me. You're could never be a bad friend…in my eyes."

Tears sprung into Yugi's eyes in that instant and he collapsed in front of the door, unable to hold himself up any longer. _I do want to go home. I want to see everyone again. I don't want to be here anymore. _Arms wrapped tightly around him and whispers of comfort were said in his ear.

"Don't worry, Yugi," Malik comforted, "I'll take you home now." A slight nod caused a large grin to spread out on his face and he held Yugi even tighter, hoping to whoever watching that he wouldn't change his mind once he calmed down and could think reasonably again. "Where's all your stuff? I'll get it for you."

"I-it's at m-my parents' place," Yugi whimpered, "I'll have t-to get it."

Malik nodded and looked around for something to write on He found a wrinkled up piece of paper in the garbage can and a small pen in one of the kitchen drawers. He wrote out a small note telling his sister the situation and, with a second thought and much debate, wrote out the whorehouse's phone number. "Let's go home."

Yugi nodded and let himself be led out of the house.

Surprisingly, it didn't take much to get Yugi's stuff out of the basement. With his parents still asleep all it took was extreme silence to get the job done. Then they hightailed it to the train station and bought two tickets for the next train heading home.

After boarding the train a few minutes later Malik immediately noticed a sudden change in Yugi. His eyes dulled as he stared out the window and he was closed in on himself.

"Yugi, what's wrong," Malik asked, the train's whistle blowing loudly.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"That's not the case or you wouldn't be like this. Please, tell me what's bothering you?"

There was a tense pause before Yugi sighed in defeat. "Just nervous I guess. Everyone must think I'm some nut case because I left how I did."

"Actually, they're all just worried about you. We've all wanted you back, but we never really knew how to start. Yesterday I got fed up with it and left and tried to get the ticket booth person to try and remember you. It was by luck that I even got the name of the city to go to."

That elicited a small giggle before Yugi turned back to the window. "I guess I have a few things to do before anything can be considered normal again." He didn't see Malik's small nod as his friend stared at him worriedly.

After arriving the two friends slowly made their way to the whorehouse, talking over things like what had happened in the past few days or anything else that would help get Yugi's mind off what could happen when they reached home. The one thing he wasn't expecting was Marik racing down the steps and pulling Malik and himself into a giant, suffocating hug.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Marik ground out demandingly, though Yugi wasn't sure if he was talking to his lover or himself.

"Yugi," a hesitant voice questioned.

The youngest pulled away from the hug, ignoring the fact that his best friend was kissing Marik passionately behind him now, and instead focused on the racing of his heart as he stared at the only person who managed to make him feel like he was dreaming even when he knew he was awake.

"Is that really you," Duke asked, stepping forward cautiously.

Yugi nodded slowly, only able to stare at the game creator.

Duke rushed forward and Yugi was clad in another bone-crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're back. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you, Yugi, I never wanted to do that to you."

"Don't worry about it," Yugi finally managed to cough out, tears streaming down his cheeks once more.

"I can't believe I never realized it before," Duke whispered desperately to him, "How much I always want to be near you." Yugi's eyes widened, did he dare believe what he thought Duke was trying to tell him?

Yami wandered over to the whorehouse. Since Marik had called him he'd had an uneasy feeling all night, completely unable to shake it. When he woke up this morning though the feeling was completely gone and he just had to go see the owner to see if anything had changed.

"Duke, I don't understand what you're saying," Yugi told his crush, staring into his eyes and only able to hope that he wouldn't be hurt again.

"I want to be with you, Yugi. I want to be able to call you mine and me as yours."

Yugi's eyes widened and he collapsed in Duke's arms, not knowing what to say.

"Please, Yugi, please tell me that you'll be mine," Duke pleaded.

_What else can I do? I've always wanted this but…what am I saying? This is what I've always wanted! From the very second I realized that I loved Duke I've wanted him to say those words to me and now that he is I'm doubting him? _He nodded against Duke, feeling like he'd been born renew. "I do want to be with you, I do," he cried happily.

Duke smiled in his new love's hair and held him tightly, never wanting to let go. He pulled back just slightly and pressed his lips to Yugi's, gently, lovingly, endearingly.

Yami stared, wide eyes and in disbelief. His whole world came crashing down in a matter of minutes and he stared on like an old doll on a shelf, completely lifeless as his smaller look-a-like kissed the person he claimed broke his heart. He never knew he was crying until he was running home, intent on never going outside again.


	16. On Guardian's Wings

Yugi walked to the apartment buildings nervously, still wondering if this would be a bad idea or not. Marik had informed him that he met Yami and had been working with him in and effort to 'rescue' him from his old life. Malik had also added on that they had tried calling his look-a-like several times the night after he arrived to let him know he was back, but Yami never answered and didn't return any of the calls. Now he found himself walking towards the last place he'd been to before he left and praying to anyone listening that nothing would go wrong. _Okay, so I deserve a good kick the butt and a whole lot of yelling for what I did, but he's got to a least look at me, right? At least…I hope he'll look at me even if it is with anger._

Shyly and shaking with nerves, Yugi's pale hand rapped gently on the door a few times and stepped away, hoping his crimson-eyed friend would answer, even if it was a shout through the door to go away.

Almost in slow motion the door creaked open and Yami, wide-eyed and motionless, stood at the door. The surprise was quickly thrown off though and asked, "What are you doing here?"

_I knew he'd still be angry with me _Yugi thought to himself, watching as the crimson pools hardened to frozen fires at the sight of him. _Of course he'd still be angry with me. He has every right to be; doesn't he? After all, we did have a big fight before I ran off and we never really settled it so he should be upset with me still. _Then Yugi started to wonder if it was a bad idea to come here, _but it's too late for me to back out now. _

Taking a deep breath, Yugi put on the most apologetic expression he could and admitted nervously; pleading silently that Yami wouldn't turn him away. "I missed you. I wanted to see you again, Yami." His words were spoken silently, so much that Yugi didn't think Yami even heard him, but then again there wasn't much noise in the halls so he could be wrong.

Yami couldn't understand why Yugi felt that way when he obviously had Duke Devlin's company now. _I saw him kissing him so why would he come to me?_ He decided it was best not to bring that topic up again, lest he begin tearing up again and then breaking apart completely.

"Did you even notice I was gone all this time," Yugi asked hopefully. He knew the answer to that, but he still wanted to hear Yami at least say it.

The crimson-eyed teen offered a slight nod. "Yes, I did. I've been helping your friends to try and locate you."

Yugi doesn't say anything to that. Just to know that Yami told him meant more to him than anything. He could've just denied it and left it that, obviously not wanting the amethyst-eyed teen to know he cared, at least to some extent at least. Instead, he just nodded and looked away.

After a long, stretched out moment of uncomfortable silence that settled between them, Yugi moves his cramped legs and mumbles, "I should be going. I just wanted to see you and make sure you're doing alright."

Yami nodded and makes up the excuse that he had a lot of important things to that day. After he closed the door, however, hot tears started escaping him for the umpteenth time since he saw kissing that dice head, Duke Devlin.

Yugi had been in his room for a few hours, since he arrived back at the whorehouse after visiting with Yami. The tension between them, it was enough to make him quiver at how uncomfortable he felt in his crimson-eyed friend's presence now. He could only hope that things between them could be fixed or he might not ever be able to forgive himself for leaving like he did.

A knock rapped on his door and he just glanced up to stare at it, not offering any kind of noise to allow the person to enter. The person on the other side of the door didn't seem to care though and cracked open the worn-out wood and peeked in. Yugi was utterly surprised to see it was Yami, and the crimson eyes glimmered with nervousness and unsure confidence. "Hey," he rasped out, his throat obviously dry.

Yugi nodded, not trusting his voice right then. _Why did he come here? He said he had things to do. _

As if reading his thoughts, Yami closed the door behind him and looked away from his look-a-like on the bed. "I lied," he whispered.

"Lied," Yugi asked innocently, pretending like he didn't know what he was talking about.

"About saying I had things to do today. Intentionally, I had wanted to be alone and not want anything to do with you after I saw you kissing that Devlin guy, but…" his voice caught in his throat and wide eyes glanced over and saw an equally shocked Yugi, mouth hanging open for all the flies in the world to glide into. "Sorry," he quickly spat out, more angrily than he wanted, "I hadn't meant to say anything about that."

"Why are you being so mean," Yugi hadn't meant to let that out, only to think it, but apparently his mind had taken a field trip and wouldn't be back until much later.

"I'm not," Yami growled out, not meaning to get so angry. He didn't even know why he was getting angry in the first place. Jealously was the first thing that crossed his mind, but he quickly pushed that thought away, not wanting to believe such a thing. "I'm really happy for your new found love," he ground out, not really meaning to say that either. _Gods, why can't I control my mouth!_

The younger easily sensed the bitterness radiating off his companion and irrationally asked, "Are you mad at me because I found love in my life after telling you once that I didn't like it? Is that why you're acting this way?"

Yami quickly looked away, growling out, "You should mind your own business." He turned towards the door and slamming it open, ignoring everything Yugi cried after him as he did.

After his once close friend disappeared from sight, Yugi burst into tears, sobbing into his pillow. Thinking quickly, he grabbed up the closet jacked and made a mad dash to Duke's house, needing his 'new found love' as Yami called it, and his warm presence.

Just as Yugi opened the door and went into the living room to look for his boyfriend, a girl with long, light brown hair stormed out of the house in tears and he Duke calling, "Serenity, come back."

Realization dawned on Yugi then, something he had tried to block completely from his memories. Not bothering to wipe his face off of stray tears or the red blotchiness that had to be there when he had cried, he made his presence known to the game creator, who was startled to see him. He quickly asked, "Yugi, what happened, your face is all red. Have you been crying? What happened?"

Ignoring his questions, Yugi asked, "Is that the girl I heard you talking to on the phone that night?" He knew he wouldn't have to elaborate on which night he was talking about. After all, he'd only stayed there one night.

Eyes wide and with great hesitation, Duke nodded faintly, hoping extravagantly that Yugi wouldn't have even noticed it. He would lie, but he'd feel even more terrible that he already did doing something like that to the innocent looking and broken creature standing in front of him.

Yugi nodded, proving that he had seen Duke's small affirmation, and turned away from Duke. "Coming back with Malik had obviously not been the right thing to do. I'm always doing this, it seems: bringing complications into other people's lives like this."

It didn't take much for the game creator to understand what Yugi was trying to say. He practically ran to the small teen and grabbed his shoulders. "Don't you dare go back to your parents' house, Yugi," he demanded, though his voice not as steady as he hoped it would be. "You have family here, you're true family that loves you and wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I love you, Yugi. I'd die without you, not knowing if you were safe or not. That place will tear you apart if you go back. I'm surprised that you're even as sane as you are after coming back from that hell hole!" He finished in a yell, and quickly looked away, not meaning on getting so emotional as to stoop to that.

To say Yugi was surprised by the outburst would be an understatement. He shook it off quickly though and looked away, shaking his head as he tried to hide his tears. "No, my friends and my surrogate family may be here and I'm grateful that they are. Being here though only causes complications." He didn't mean to continue, but he did anyway. He decided to blame it on his lost state and the tears that started to cascade down his cheeks. "Marik doesn't know whether to line up customers for me or to just let me stay there, Malik's too scared to even talk to me, lest he say something that'll make me turn further from him. Bakura was never close to me to begin with and Ryou, Ryou was already turning away from me and now we're even further apart than ever. Joey's still too rapped in Seto and Seto doesn't like to me to being with. I was never friends with anyone else in that horrible place." More tears made waterfalls down his cheeks as he continued, "You and that girl, Serenity, are in ruins because I'm back. I broke your relationship apart because you're with me now. Even somebody I've never met is hurt because I came back. Then there's Yami," Yugi completely down and fell to his knees sobbing out more loudly and harshly than could ever remember doing in life, "Yami completely hates me now. I can't talk to him now without feeling tense or getting into an argument with him!"

After a second, Yugi forced himself to stand, denying any help Duke tried to offer to him. He dragged himself to the door, trying to ignore the outburst he'd just had. Before leaving, however, Yugi looked over his shoulder and said, "My heart might not truly be with you anymore in the way it once was, but it is with you when I say I love you as a brother. I hope you can find some semblance of forgiveness for me for ending our relationship so soon like this." He left without another word said between them, letting his tears fall silently as he walked the long road to the gate. Afterwards, he ran to the whorehouse and locked himself in his room, never talking to anyone who came by the door.

Yugi had been in there for days, quickly turned into weeks. Marik tried everything to get him out of there, but eventually even he had to give up. He could easily just unlock the door with the master key, but the fact that Yugi was his friend kept him from doing it. Malik pleaded with him to open the door, but Marik couldn't bring himself to do it. Even Bakura had gone to the undisturbed door when Ryou had come to him in tears explaining what happened, but he too failed in getting the door to open. There was even a small instant where Joey and Seto tried coaxing Yugi out, Joey for his friend and Seto doing it for his lover, but they also couldn't budge the door.

Malik, worried for his friend becoming so depressed like Ryou had once been when he first came to the house, locked himself in Marik's office, curled up on his lover's chair with the phone and a special number in hand. He dialed the number and prayed someone would pick up this time.

When the ringing stopped and a hoarse voice answered, "Hello," Malik's stomach jumped in relief.

"Please," he begged with everything he had in him, "Please, you have to come speak with Yugi. He's locked himself in his room, he won't talk to anybody, and all we can hear is the sound of him crying. He hasn't come out for weeks now and won't even open the door for food. I'm scared for him and you're the only one who can get through to him. I just know it."

A long sigh echoed in the ear piece of the phone before Yami's tired voice promised to be over in a short while.

Seconds ticked by, minutes passed by slowly, and all too sluggishly a half an hour went by before Malik saw a lone figure walking towards the whorehouse. The amethyst-eyed teen perked up just slightly in hopes that Yami might be the one to save his friend.

When Yami stopped in front of him with worrying drowning in his fiery depths, Malik silently led him to Yugi's room and waited.

With slight hesitance, Yami knocked lightly on the door and listened intently for any sounds. He didn't hear anything, but that didn't mean that Yugi wasn't in there. If the phone call was anything to go by, then this door was monitored thoroughly for any signs of Yugi coming out. He knocked and called out for the younger teen this time, asking him gently to open the door.

Yugi was roused from his sleep by more knocking. He thought that if he just didn't make any sounds that the person would just go away and leave him alone. His stomach growled irritably at him, but he chose to ignore it just like every other time it argued to be fed. His throat was parched from crying and his eyes itched terribly, but he couldn't just leave his room. He didn't see a point now that he had nothing in his life.

When another knock echoed through the room and then a soft voice Yugi could unmistakably recognize after a few seconds, his eyes widened and his head turned in disbelief towards the door. He doesn't want to belief that his red-eyed look-a-like could possibly be on the other side of the door, but at the same time he knew.

"Yugi, please, open the door. I want to talk to you," and after a small second he admitted, "I miss you. I'm worried about you. Please, let me in?"

The amethyst-eyed teen gently stood from the bed, not even knowing he was heading towards the soothing voice until his hand rested on the knob. He contemplated just backing away from it, but his undeniable urge to see the person who he felt he let down the most compelled him to continue with what he started.

Malik squeaked with utter relief when the unmistakeable sound of the lock clicking reached his ears. His hands clenched each other tightly as his eyes glued on the door knob, watching as it turned.

Yami stepped away from the door and offered a small smile as his determined crimson eyes stared down into Yugi's broken ones. His smile only wavered slightly as he took in Yugi's complete form, but chose to ignore it in favor of just being there for Yugi. After everything was settled down then he'd worry about Yugi's health, but for now he'd take it one step at a time.


	17. Healing

Yugi was about to step towards his fire-eyed savior when his eyes caught the silent, unmoving form of Malik standing off by the wall. The shorter amethyst-eyed boy stared at his friend, becoming self-conscious of himself and backing up into the darkness of his room once more.

Yami noticed the barely noticeable glances at Yugi's friend and he pieced the present puzzle together easily enough, having been through this sort of thing before. He moved over to Malik and whispered just loud enough for only the other boy to hear him. "Perhaps it would be better if you leave us alone for a while. Two people will be hard to take on even if one of them is silent."

The teen didn't want to leave though, worried for his friend, but he knew that he could trust Yami and that the crimson-eyed teen would take care of him. Only after slight hesitation did he nod and added, "I'll go find him something to eat. I'm sure he's hungry."

Yami agreed, saying, "That would be the best thing to do now," and watched as Malik left, using his periphery vision to keep an eye on Yugi as well. He smiled inwardly to himself, however, when he found Yugi loosening up and relaxing once again, his younger eyes watching him intently.

Slowly, he turned to face Yugi again, a gentle and friendly smile on his face. He was also careful to leave the usual edge out of his crimson-eyes.

Almost as if everything had been played in fast forward on the VCR, Yugi moved towards him and threw his arms around his waist, hiding his face where shoulder met neck. Yami smiled with relief, cautious to make sure a sigh didn't come out in case Yugi took it the wrong way. He wrapped his arms around Yugi gently but firmly, biting back a surprised gasp at how thin and frail Yugi felt in his embrace. Also, it was only slight, but Yugi could feel the vibrations of Yugi's legs quivering to hold his strength up and he mentally cursed himself for not realizing how weak Yugi would be after not coming out of his room for two weeks.

Cautiously, he bent down and picked Yugi bridal style, earning a startled gasp from the one in his arms. Keeping a smile on his face, Yami brought him into his room and laid him on the indented covered of the bed, somehow knowing that Yugi must've been on the bed the majority of the time he was locked in the bedroom if not the whole time.

"You're not strong enough to be wandering around all over the place right now," he explained to Yugi, "but don't worry; I'll watch over you until you're all better."

Yugi offered him a watery smile and nodded, afraid to say anything lest they get into another argument, which wasn't something he really needed at this time. All he was grateful for was that his crimson-eyed friend was there now and hoped greatly that he wasn't going to leave him again.

Yami walked over towards the door, however, and Yugi felt his chest tighten up and he made a noise of protest, a chocked whimpering, and he curled in on himself.

Yami turned back in surprised and only just managed to hide how worried he truly was. _Could he really be this scared of me leaving him like this _he wondered tensely to himself. "Don't worry, Yugi. I won't leave your side." He turned back to the door, or, rather, the wall next to it, and slid the light switch up slightly to allow a dense light to brighten the room up a little bit. He then turned around and moved back to the bed, sitting down. He couldn't help but find himself staring in awe as Yugi curled up next to him, his head sliding down his chest comfortable before resting on his lap with a small, contented smile on the younger's face the whole time.

Petting his hands along Yugi's back, the older felt largely relieved that he couldn't feel the spine's vertebrae like he would on a long time anorexic. _Only slight bumps _he smiled.

Malik knocked gently on the door then and Yugi jumped up, startled.

"Don't worry, Yugi, I'm here," Yami whispered comfortingly into Yugi's closer ear, watching as the younger teen relaxed and moved around as though trying to hide himself behind his larger form.

Malik was disheartened to see that Yugi seemed to be afraid of him and he sadly choked out, "I brought you something to eat; it's your favorite." He stepped slowly into the room and place the bowl of warm soup on the nightstand before turned away.

Before he could leave the room, however, and before Yugi could settle down against him, Yami stood and hurried over to Malik and held his arm so he wouldn't try walking away without listening to him. "You shouldn't take Yugi's actions to heart, Malik. He just needs a ground to settle on and his mind had obviously chosen him as an anchor to help him. Over time, he'll eventually open up again. Having been through this kind of depression myself, I know easier than you do that he's been hurt and doesn't want to reach out to anyone again too quickly."

The statement seemed to cheer Malik up considerably and the amethyst-eyed teen nodded. "You understand him so easily and you've only been here all of ten minutes," he praised him, obviously encouraged by easily Yami could make him feel better. "I'm glad that Yugi trusts you. I don't think I'd be able to help him as much as you are."

"Don't put yourself down. If given the chance I'm sure that you'd do just as good. Everyone has their own methods, after all," Yugi smirked knowingly.

Malik nodded and left down the hall. Yami watched him go, adding before he turned the corner, "If you would like to help though, you could go tell his friends he was going to be all right."

Malik looked over his shoulder and nodded. _Of course, why didn't I think of that sooner? That should've been the very first thing I thought of doing after getting Yugi something to eat _he berated himself.

After he left, Yami went back to the bed and sat down by the head so he could rest his back against the wall. Yugi settled down again and Yami started petting his hair soothingly. When he felt Yugi's body getting heaver though, and more relaxed, he shook the smaller boy awake and explained, "You should try eating something before going to sleep."

Yugi's expression clearly showed the he just wanted to eat, but he didn't try arguing with it. Instead, he sat up, with Yami's help, and rested his head against his helper's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're at least trying to get better. I remember when I went through this sort of thing that I had just wanted to die, but my friend knocked some sense into my head after I told him that…literally," he chuckled. The statement also caused a small smile to spread on the younger's face.

Yami then picked up the bowl carefully, using the towel Malik had used to carry it and its steaming contents, and proceeded to feed the half-asleep teen next to him. He only got through about a quarter of the bowl, however, before Yugi's eyes refused to stay and his mouth wouldn't allow any more food to enter. He smiled gently, pressing a chaste kiss to the younger's pale cheek, and then coaxed him down to his lap once more. He resisted chuckling when Yugi snuggled up to him and held onto his right arm like a young child would with a teddy bear or any other treasured stuffed animal they might have.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to go anywhere as long as Yugi was asleep, Yami shifted slightly to maneuver a pillow to rest against his head and he fell asleep as well.

Right at that moment, Joey was passing by and he glanced in unconsciously. He felt the corners of his mouth lift up into a smile. The picture the two look-a-likes made had Joey wishing he could had a camera so he'd be able to remember it. It reminded him of what people said about seeing him and Seto together and he didn't know what they were talking about only because he couldn't see it. Now, though, he felt as though he had a good understanding seeing the two twins together.

Malik turned the corner and spotted Joey. Pressing a finger to his lips he said, "You should leave them alone." He then proceeded to tell them what had happened when Yami arrived and Joey could feel himself brightening up as he headed back to his room. Just knowing his best bud, as he liked to call Yugi, would be okay made him feel a lot better than he already had been.

"You know, Malik," he said before he left his sight completely, "those two look so right together that I'm surprised they hadn't hit it off right away."

Malik chuckled silently into his hand and nodded as well, gesturing for Joey to go on his way. He was going to make it his personal business to make sure the two were left entirely alone.

The blonde agreed and headed down the hall once again, intent on informing his lover of the good news.

The amethyst-eyed teen watched him go before walking to Ryou's room and, also, the room he shared with his own lover. A joyful smile covering his face as he remembered the genuine shock that had broken out on Marik's face when he told him that Yugi had let someone in the room; it was definitely a priceless expression.

He knocked gently, just in case Bakura had just taken his medication, and the younger albino opened the door a few minutes later. Without even a word being said between them,, only looking at the amethyst-eyed teen's face, Ryou broke out into tears of joy and utter relief. He even threw himself into Malik's arms and thanking whoever was watching over Yugi over and over how grateful he was.

The door opened further and Malik managed to catch one of his eyebrows raise in suspicion at the scene at the scene that met him.

Feeling his presence, Ryou turned and threw himself at his lover instead, sobbing out ecstatically that Yugi was going to be okay.

A surprised expression took over Bakura's face and he held Ryou gently, looking at Malik for an explanation. Malik was all too happy to tell the story once again about what happened with Yami. Bakura couldn't help the small smile that rose the sides of his mouth.

He wouldn't say it nor admit it in a million years, even through pure torture, but he was genuinely happy that Yugi was going to be saved after all. Bakura looked back at Ryou and his smile widened further, holding him ever tighter against him.

The roughened albino remembered all too well how depressed and broken Ryou was when he first met him. The teen had intrigued him to no end and, even though the younger teen wouldn't say anything to him, he gradually got him to open up. He felt a sense of pride swell in his chest even every time he remember that it was him and him alone that had saved Ryou from losing himself completely.

The teen had intrigued him and, even the younger albino wouldn't say anything to him, he gradually got him to open up and he felt a sense of pride swelling in his chest every time he remembered that it was him and him alone that had saved Ryou from losing himself completely.

Yugi floated through his dreams peacefully, not feeling anything but utter satisfaction pass through him. For once, he felt truly happy and he never wanted that feeling to wash away. Warmth enveloped him at all ends and he didn't feel uncomfortable in any way. He felt as though he could stay encased in this dream forever. However, as he felt himself tugged away from sleep and more into the waking he realized that the incredible feeling wasn't leaving him.

His eyes blinked open and looked around. The bedroom seemed the same, but what seemed different, apart from the door being open. That's when he realized that the room was moving up and down at a steady rhythm. Yugi jumped up and looked around, but a chuckle reached him and he looked back around to see Yami watching him intently.

"Ya-Yami," he croaked out around a dry throat.

Said person nodded and answered, "You've been asleep for a while, little Yugi. How do you feel?"

Yugi nodded, blushing at how he reacted. He wanted to apologize for acting so weird, but he didn't know how to. Arms wrapped around him gently, cautiously, and the amethyst-eyed teen glanced over his shoulder into Yami's crimson ones.

"You don't need to worry about anything now, Yugi. I'm here now and I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you don't get hurt ever again."

The younger nodded and looked away and just letting Yami's warmth consume him. Being here, with Yami, just made everything seem right, like everything would never be bad again. He wondered what took him so long to realize such a unique feeling.

"I asked Malik to bring something to eat. Would you like anything?"

Yugi shook his head wearily, not missing the small sigh that escaped Yami. His mood dampened and he couldn't help but feel as though he'd disappointed him.

A knock on the door distracted him and he saw Yami walk in with a plate, a sandwich on top. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I hope you don't mind peanut butter and jelly. Marik hasn't had a chance to go shopping yet." The silent "because we were too worried about Yugi to leave the house" wasn't missed.

"It's fine, thank you."

"Hey there, Yugi," Malik greeted cautiously, "Do you feel any better?"

Yugi wasn't going to answer, feeling guilt of how he treated his friends the past two weeks when they were trying to help him. However, seeing the look in both Malik and Yami's faces was enough to give a slight nod and, after further coaxing when Yami started massaging his shoulders, added, "A little."

"That's good," Malik smiled. "Would you like anything to eat? Drink?"

Yugi shook his head, looking down at the bed. "I'm still kind of full from what I ate earlier," he admitted, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Yugi. We'll just try later then," Malik suggested. He could feel his chest constricting at seeing Yugi close in on himself again, even with Yami holding him. He said the last thing he could think of to help Yugi. "I told everyone that you came out; they're excited to come see you." The hopeful spark that brightened Yugi's eyes didn't go unnoticed and he added, "Would you like them to come in?"

Yugi was about to answer before a better thought came to him. _They've been coming to me and I locked them out. Maybe I can make up for what I did to them by going to them instead. _He pushed himself out of the bed and used the wall to help him walk to the door. He looked back around at his two friends watching him expectantly and a small smile spread on his face. "Actually, I'd much rather go see them."

A large smile broke out on both of the teen's faces and they nodded excitedly. "Of course, Yugi, they'll be thrilled to see you," Malik encouraged.

"Yami, will you help me," Yugi asked quietly.

Yami nodded and was instantly at his side, helping him walk down the hall.


	18. Here and There

The identical pair walked down the quiet hall, Yugi's chest constricting with guilt each step that he took. A blanket was wrapped around his shoulders to block out the chills of the whorehouse and even with his hands holding tightly onto Yami's arm as they walked in silence he still couldn't get over his nervous.

He had asked Yami to help him to Marik's office first, thinking it would be the best place to go to first. Upon arriving, however, he wasn't sure if it was the best idea or not to come out of his room. His voice choked in his throat as he though _I'm not sure I can do this. _

Yami, sensing his crush's anxiety and hesitance, bent down and asked if Yugi would like him to knock. Yugi unknowingly nodded his head and at the sound of the door knob clicking out of its spot he recoiled behind the taller boy and clenched his eyes shut in hopes that when he opened them again he would still be locked in his room, or maybe curled up in Yami's arms again. At the last though a small blush covered his cheeks and he lowered his head more.

"Yami," Marik's voiced in surprise, "Is there something you need?"

Yami shook his head and gestured behind him before mouthing that Yugi was a bit on the nervous side. Marik wasn't sure whether to believe that Yugi had come out or not, but after seeing the seriousness in the crimson eyes of Yugi's look-a-like, he knew he was telling the truth. Kneeling down quietly he smiled lovingly at Yugi. He had always loved the boy like a brother more than a best friend. He was lucky to have ever met him, even if it was under…such circumstances as meeting him at the whorehouse while he asked for a job. Cautiously raising a hand he slid his fingers easily against Yugi's soft, pale cheek and watched as his clenched eyes slowly relaxed to confused and then they opened to reveal the violet treasures beneath the lids.

"I've missed you, Yugi. I'm glad you're feeling better," he whispered. He was expecting tears. Yugi was a cry kind of person and whether he was happy, upset, sad, angry, whatever, he would always cry. So when his young friend's ears started misting up it didn't worry him. What the owner of the whorehouse wasn't expecting was the armful of Yugi he got as soon as the first tears slid tear tracks down his cheeks as the teen sobbed into his shoulder. After getting over the initial shock he returned the embrace and petted Yugi's back tenderly and comfortingly, whispering words of comfort to him so he wouldn't make himself sick.

After a few short minutes, Yugi finally pulled away from Marik and offered him a watery smile. "I thought you would be mad at me," he rasped out in a quiet voice, feeling ashamed for having admitted it so easily.

Marik shook his head, careful about his expression so Yugi wouldn't think he really was mad at him. "I could never do that, Yugi; you're much too cute for someone to be upset with you."

A blush covered Yugi's cheeks and he quickly looked away. However, having moved to fast the room started to spin and he latched onto Yami's arm to steady himself. He knew he would have to eat something soon if he was going to be wandering the halls like this. _Maybe it would've been better to ask Yami just to ask everyone to come to my room like they wanted to initially instead of me going to them _Yugi thought as the room came to a stop.

"We should be going, Marik. Yugi still wants to go to Joey and Ryou's rooms and I think it would be better if Yugi wasn't up for very long. He's still pretty weak from not eating anything and I want to try to get something else into his stomach before he goes to sleep tonight," Yami explained.

"That's understandable," Marik reasoned. He looked back at Yugi and gave him one last hug before pulling away. "Thank you for coming to see me, Yugi. You're definitely one of the strongest people I know."

Yugi blushed again and turned away slowly, motioning to Yami that he wanted to get moving again. The pair waved goodbye to the violet-eyed, messy-haired owner and turned the corner.

Malik came up beside his lover with a wide smile on his face. "Isn't this great, Marik? Yugi's going to be okay now, I can feel it."

Marik nodded and led his younger half into his office and closing the door behind him. "Yes, but he still has quite a ways to go before he's fully healed. I'm not sure what caused Yugi to behave the way he did, but his eyes definitely give way to something that traumatized him more than we might be able to understand. It could very well be just having come back here even after such a short time away that caused it to something as large as watching a best friend being killed. We won't know unless he decides to tell us."

Malik nodded and curled up on his lover's seat and closed his eyes in contentment. "He'll tell us, I know he will. Maybe not soon, but he will."

_Should I tell him how I feel or is it too soon? I don't want him to feel like I'm pressuring him into anything or something like that. And what about Duke? Would he leave him for me? _Yami thought as he watched his young look-a-like walk silently down the hall, his hands still latched onto his one arm. _No, definitely not! Duke and Yugi were happy when I saw them together. Why would Yugi leave something like that for someone like me?_

They stopped in front of Joey's door next and Yami rapped on the door like he had with Marik's. The door squeaked open not a minute later and Seto stood there with out baggy, grey sweatpants on and his hair wet and disheveled, as though he had just gotten out of the shower. The towel clenched in his hand not holding the door proved that thought.

"Yugi," was the first thing he said when he registered who was at the door. Faster than lighting a blonde raced to the door and held Yugi in his hands, holding him so tightly against him that his arms were shivering.

"I don't believe it, Yugi, you're out. I knew you opened the door, but you came out. You don't know how relieved I am. You're going to be okay now, right, you won't scare me like that anymore," he begged, pushing his friend out to arms' length and stared into violet eyes with his own honey-colored ones.

"He was pretty shaken up when he found out Yugi hadn't come out of his room for anything a couple weeks ago. He'd been the first one to try getting him to come out, but nothing worked," Seto explained to Yami, letting his lover and his best friend have their privacy. "How'd you manage to do it?"

Yami shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that Joey could hold Yugi so freely and he couldn't. _I won't tell him. I don't deserve him. _"I don't know. I just told him it was me and he opened up. I'm not sure why Yugi picked me of all people when it's obvious he's got so many caring friends here."

Joey stood up at that point, his eyes misted over with unborn tears and a watery smile that matched Yugi's own stared down at the shorter teen. "You look pretty exhausted, Yug. Why don't you go get some rest?"

Yugi's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, grasping back onto Yami's arm, missing the pain that flashed across his crimson orbs. Seto didn't though, but he held his tongue.

"He still needs to see Ryou before he goes back to his room. Then he'll rest and eat a little more before going to sleep, hopefully," Yami told him, leading Yugi down the hall once more.

Joey nodded and waved after Yugi, glad that he was going to be okay now. "It's great that Yugi's going to be fine now," the blonde exclaimed cheerfully, stretching his arms above his head as he collapsed on his bed. Seto closed the door behind him and sat beside his lover, lost in thought. The blonde sensed that and stayed quiet, curling around his lover with his arms wound around his waist.

"I wonder," the CEO started, "will Yami be okay though?"

"What do you mean," Joey asked curiously.

"You didn't see, you couldn't tell," Seto asked incredulously.

After a short second the honey-eyed colored teen shook his head.

The brunette's shoulders slumped in defeat and he shook his head in mock disappointment before running his hands through Joey's thick strands of blonde hair. "I think," he paused, mostly for effect, "I think that Yami feels more for Yugi than he's letting on." At Joey's adorable cock of the head for him to continue he smirked and closed his eyes as if remembering something from long ago. "When Yugi grabbed onto his arm something on his face showed that it hurt him that Yugi only touched him as though for protection, like some kind of guardian like a young child."

"You think that Yami likes Yugi and he's too afraid to tell him," Joey asked simply.

Seto nodded and looked at his lap in thought.

"You might be right, Seto, but what are you going to do about it. It's up to Yami to say something. I don't think we should be involved in those guys' personal affairs. Besides, it's not a very good time for Yugi right now. He's got Duke and he's trying to heal from whatever it is that caused him to lock himself up for two weeks."

"If he as Duke, than why hasn't that game creator wannabe come to see Yugi? Surely, somebody's told him about Yugi's entrapment."

That comment froze Joey and he looked thoughtfully at the floor before nodding. "Yeah, I wonder why Duke has been around here at all."

Like the previous two doors, Yami knocked on the albino couple's door and waited. Not as quickly as Seto or Marik's had, the door opened to reveal Ryou cautiously peaking out the crack of the door. At seeing Yami, and then Yugi standing somewhat behind the taller teen he opened it more, a wide smile on his face.

"I was going to come by later to see if you'd like a visitor, Yugi. You must be feeling awful after not getting anything inside your stomach. You do look terribly pale," Ryou commented.

Yugi smiled slightly and nodded. He stepped forward and silently embraced the albino, feeling more tears come to him as he hid is face in his friend's neck.

Bakura came out a minute later and watched the quiet exchange from where he stood. "Well, Yami, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Those two; it's pretty bad, isn't it? Both seem too innocent for their own good and, yet, look at where they're working. Seeing them like this makes it seem only worse," the older albino joked.

Yami forced out a chuckle and nodded, "Yeah, it does seem kind of strange, but you can't admit that you don't like it."

"That's true," Bakura agreed.

The two friends pulled away and smiled at each other, Yugi whispering something into Ryou's ear before going back to Yami.

"It was nice of you to drop by, squirt," Bakura smirked. "We'll come visit you later when you're feeling up to more time outside that room of yours. Though, that'll probably turn into tomorrow knowing how Ryou is." His comment earned him a smack on the arm from his young lover.

The short scene caused a smile to break on Yugi's face and Yami felt something bubble in his chest at such a small reaction. He then led Yugi down the hall once more after exchanging goodbyes to the two albinos.

"What did he whisper to you," Bakura demanded after the two went back inside the small room again.

"Nothing," Ryou jumped on his bed and curled up underneath his blankets. "He just said that he was sorry for ignoring us when we tried to help him and that he would do his best to make it up. I told him there was no reason for it and that it was worth it just to seem him around again."

"That better be all. No secrets, remember?"

"Yes, oh great one, I would never dream of it," Ryou teased.

"You better believe it."

Yami tucked Yugi under his covers and motioned Malik to come in when he appeared in the doorway. "Please, try to eat it, Yugi. I know you don't feel hungry, but your stomach needs it and your body needs the nutrition.

Yugi nodded and allowed himself to be fed at least half the bowl of warm soup before he couldn't take in another bite. He then slid further down underneath the covers and gestured for Yami to stay with him, which the other boy couldn't disagree to. Snuggled up together, the two silently and quickly fell asleep in each other's arms.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! HOPE YOU LIKED YOUR PRESENT!!


	19. Admittance

Yugi healed slowly but surely. He would smile more often and let others beside Yami be closer to him now. He didn't like it when Yami left though; they found out that the hard way. A couple days after Yami showed up he went to his apartment for the night to check on his dad and a few minutes after Yugi realized his savior wasn't there he screamed and cried and it was impossible for anyone to get near him. Deadly silence met Yami when he came back the next morning and even deadlier sight when he went to Yugi's room. The youth was in the corner of the room rocking back and forth asking Yami to come back and not leave him all alone. Tears were slipping periodically down his cheeks and his eyes were red and his voice sounded scratchy and horrible.

The red-eyed teen slowly crept to him and knelt down quietly. Yugi glanced up for a second and his eyes filled again. Before Yami could ask him what happened Yugi looked down with shame and croaked, "You weren't there." Yami was shocked that his disappearance caused Yugi to react so horribly. He shifted forward and leant against the wall, stretched his legs out and held out his arms for Yugi, who pushed away from his own wall and started sobbing into Yami's chest, holding on to him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Yugi. I won't leave you again. I promise," Yami swore. He held his broken look-a-like closer and kissed his forehead lightly, knowing Yugi wouldn't mistake it for more than just compassion. He couldn't let Yugi know of his feelings lest he get hurt again. _He's better off with someone else. I know he is. _He glanced at Yugi before quickly looking off to the side. _I promise you, Yugi, I'll find you someone worthy. I'll make sure you don't get hurt again. _

That was a few weeks earlier. Now Yugi felt more and more comfortable with having Yami leave him as he grew stronger. He even admitted to not even knowing why he had reacted so violently before apologizing to everyone for keeping them up, which, of course, everyone brushed off anyway. They might not have known what he was going through exactly, but everyone was there because they were hurting one way or another.

Duke was having a party about a month and half after the incident and invited the group of friends the whorehouse. It was in celebration of selling one million copies on the first two days of one of his newest products. It was rumored that it might even make it to the states since it was so big. Anyway, he wanted to throw a party and it was the perfect excuse to see Yugi, even if it was with all of his friends with him, and let him know there were no hard feelings about what happened between them. He knew he could've just called him and asked to meet him, but he heard things about what was happening at the whorehouse and figured he'd be more comfortable with friends surrounding him rather than being alone. Besides, it was partly because of him that Yugi was in his condition.

Malik and Marik were walking ahead of the group, both wearing tight leather pants and similar shirts that showed off a fair amount of tanned skin on their stomach; Malik's was a light purple and Marik's was a soft grey. Joey was wearing a pair of fading black jeans, a white shirt, and a blue jacket. Seto was wearing his usual attire of trench coat, white pants, and white shirt, which Joey always exclaims as making him look incredibly sexy (which Seto had replied with, while your outfit always lets off what a mutt you are. A slight argument followed by the two lovers making out on the street corner about a block from the whorehouse.) Ryou had on a light blue sweatshirt and black dress pants, saying he wanted to look nice even though it wasn't required. Bakura, however, had taken complete advantage at not needing a dress code. He had a black button-up shirt with at least half the buttons undone and baggy, plaid pajama pants, which Ryou had joked that he was lazy all the time. (Bakura got a wicked grin on his face and picked Ryou up bridal style running around in the middle of the street jokingly while his younger lover screamed for him to put him down.) Yugi and Yami were the least rambunctious of the group. Both wearing jeans, Yami's tight and Yugi's baggy, while Yugi had on a light sweatshirt and Yami wore a black leather vest with a chain coming out one pocket, across the back and into the pocket on the other side. They were silent most of the way, but the block and half or so there Yugi stopped and chocked out, "I don't think I can do this."

Everyone had immediately stopped what they were doing and watched him, while Yami wrapped his arms around him and held him. "You can, Yugi. You're the strongest person I know. It's understandable that you're scared to see Duke again what had happened between the both of you, but I'm sure he doesn't hate you or have any negative feelings towards you because of it. However, if you're uncomfortable about it than I'll take you home and forget about the party."

Yugi looked up at him and then at everyone around them, standing around the two boys silently, and then hid his face in Yami's arm. Yami shook his head and looked at Marik pointedly. "Could you and the others go ahead of us," he mouthed out. Marik paused a few beats before nodded and heading down the street again. Malik got the hint first and hurried after, Seto not long after him with Joey holding his arm tightly. Ryou didn't want to go, but Bakura pulled him gently by his arms until both of them were walking away; none of them looked back.

Yami pushed Yugi to arms' length and smiled serenely at him. "Yugi, no one will think any less of you if you don't go."

"It's not that I don't want to go – I do – but what if Duke hates me for what I did?"

"Then why did invite you and everyone else to his party?"

Yugi looked away, unable to answer. He knew what he wanted to say, but he knew Yami knew he didn't believe it. Duke was incapable of hurting people intentionally. Joey joked that Jiminy Cricket was constantly on his shoulder. Thinking of the conscience always got a smile on Yugi's face when Joey said that. He nodded and looked past Yami to where his friends had gone and then back the way they came. Taking a deep breath and nodded, taking Yami's hand, not catching the look that passed Yami's face when he did, and they walked slowly in the direction of the Devlin mansion.

Duke opened the door for the umpteenth time in anxiety. He was starting to get nervous as the minutes ticked by and was beginning to think Yugi wasn't showing up. His fears only increased when only his friends were at the door. He looked behind the group to see if he was trying to catch up with them only the stairs, but his crush wasn't there at all. "Good evening," he forced a smile, "Glad you could come. The drinks and snacks are over there, help yourself, and have fun."

Bakura smirked and slapped his hand on the game creator's shoulder. "Don't worry, Devlin, he's coming. Him and Yami got held up for a minute, but they should be along soon."

Duke offered a small smile and a nod of thanks before leading everyone into the living room. After settling down on the couch and closing his eyes in relief that Yugi was coming he heard a knock on the door and sprang up again. Upon nearly throwing open the door he saw Yugi slightly behind Yami, but still there. A large smile grew on his face as he greeted, "Hey there Yugi, Yami; glad you could make it. Come on in."

Yami nodded a hello and started to walk in, but the tug of hands on his shirt made him pause and look back. Yugi was shivering slightly with an unsure and nervous expression on his face, which was hard to tell in itself since he was looking at his shoes with his bangs covering his face. A sad smile crossed his face and he looked back at Yugi, which made Duke nervous because he wasn't sure what was going on. "Yugi," Yami whispered gently, "don't worry; I'm here." The small one nodded and allowed himself to be pulled in.

Duke watched them worriedly, wondering what was going on between them. Of all the things that confused him about the duo now, there was one thing he couldn't mistake: the look that Yami was giving Yugi as they walked together. _It seems that either Yugi doesn't feel the same towards him or he just doesn't know. _

After seeing to the other guests and making sure they were having a good time he wandered around in search of Yugi or one of his friends. He spotted Malik and Marik by the refreshments and headed over to them. "Hey, guys, have you seen Yugi anywhere? I need to talk to him."

Malik shook his head 'no' and replied after taking a sip of cider, "Nope, haven't seen him since he got here. I'm sure Yami's with him though."

Duke resisted grinding his teeth together in irritation. _I want to be alone with him. I can't tell him something privately between us if Yami's always around him. _"Alright, thanks anyway." He turned to leave, but Marik stopped him.

"I don't know about Yugi, but I did see Bakura and Ryou by the stairs a few minutes ago. They might've seen him."

The game creator nodded once more and walked off again, but when a hand landed on his shoulder he looked back to see the owner of the whorehouse watching him seriously. "What is it?"

"Don't hurt him." He didn't say anything more, only went back to Malik.

Duke was surprised that Marik could tell what he was up to. _Am I that obvious that I'm going to try getting him back… _

Like Marik said, Bakura and Ryou were sitting on the stairs talking and munching on a plate of chips and assorted cookies. "Hey, Bakura, Ryou, having fun?"

"We haven't seen him, Devlin," Bakura answered immediately.

Duke's eyes widened in surprise; before he got a chance to question about it Ryou started in.

The white-haired teen hit his older lover's shoulder in annoyance. "Bakura, you shouldn't be so rude. At least give him the chance to ask or say whatever he wants to before you go making accusations." Ryou then turned to Duke again and smiled innocently, as though he hadn't just scolded someone known by many people to kill people for talking back to him. "Did you need something, Duke?"

"Um..well…actually," he stuttered, watching closely as Bakura grew more and more irritated at having been disturbed, "I was looking for Yugi and Marik said that I should ask you."

"We saw him outside about half an hour or so ago with Yami, but it's gotten chilly since then and I'm sure Yami brought him in shortly after that," Ryou told him.

"Alright, thanks, I'll go check there." He turned and quickly walked away in fear that Bakura would come after him.

As he was walking away though he heard Bakura mutter under his breath, "I don't want that dice weirdo hanging around Yugi, Ryou. He doesn't deserve him."

"Don't worry, Bakura," he heard Ryou whisper back, "As long as Yami's with him I doubt Duke's even got a chance. Not to be rude, but I don't think Yugi would really go for him again."

His hopes diminished considerably, Duke headed for the sliding glass door that led towards the pool. He didn't see Yugi or Yami anywhere, but he did see Joey and Seto sitting with their feet dangling in the heated water with a blanket around their shoulders. He walked over to them. "Seto, Joey, have you seen Yugi anywhere? I need to talk to him about something and it's really important."

"You don't deserve him, Devlin," Seto answered rudely.

"What?"

"We know what you're planning; it's obvious," Joey replied.

"Planning," Duke repeated, not knowing what was happening.

Seto and Joey turned to glare coldly at him, causing Duke to step back lightly.

"Don't play stupid; everyone knows you want Yugi back. It only took a short while to realize it, since we know you as well as we do. We didn't have a problem with you coming to the whorehouse as a customer, but we do have a problem with you not showing up when Yugi was hurting as much as he would. You didn't even call to see what was going on. If anything, that just proves how much you don't deserve him since you couldn't be bothered to do anything," Seto growled.

"So just leave him alone. Yami's with him now and they'll be happy," Joey finished.

"Those two…are together," Duke swallowed harshly around the ball in his throat.

"Not yet," Joey answered," but it's only matter of time. They have feelings for each other, Yugi just hasn't realized it yet, not like Yami has."

"So there's still time. I don't care what you or the others say! I will have Yugi back!"

The blonde and brunette watched as the host of the party marched back into the mansion and slammed the glass sliding door closed.

_The nerve of those guys! _Duke thought as he made his way down the hall, intent on staying away from his guests so he didn't blow off his steam on them. He stood stock still though we he saw Yami standing next to the bathroom door, waiting for whoever was in there to get out. "Yami," the said teen looked up, "Where's Yugi?"

Yami pointed to the bathroom door and Duke nodded. "I see." He didn't want to ask, he knew it was sound rude, but apparently his manners left as soon as Seto opened his mouth. "What do you get out of being with Yugi?"

"What," Yami asked with surprise, not understanding what Duke was getting at.

"Don't play dumb," Duke continued, "I see the way you stare at him. Yugi's mine and I won't let you have him." He was careful to speak only loud enough that Yami could hear him and Yugi couldn't.

The widening of Yami's eyes was enough of an answer for Duke: it was true; Yami had feelings for Yugi.

"I won't let you have him; not without a fight," he growled.

Yami stepped forward slightly, away from the wall, "I don't know how you possibly found out my feelings for Yugi, especially if you happened to do it by yourself, since you can't care for Yugi as much as you're letting on; only that you're possessive of him. When he locked himself in his room you couldn't be bothered to go see him or call to ask him about him. If you're trying to tell me that you love him, than I'm afraid I'm not at all convinced."

The way Yami spoke surprised Duke entirely. He thought by confronting him they'd end up in a screaming match to end all matches, than turn into a fist fight, and the end result with one or both of them in the hospital. Instead, Yami was talking softly, sincerely, more honest than anyone he'd ever heard before.

"It's true that I hold deep, strong feelings for Yugi. I was scared that by seeing him with you I couldn't control myself or my feelings. I didn't want to be away from him, but it was the only way to lessen the pain. Then I got a call saying Yugi was in his room and hadn't come out. Despite how I felt I went to see him and it turned out Yugi came out because of me. Reasons for that are still unknown, but I couldn't care less about the reasons because I knew Yugi was hurting so I helped. I've been trying to make it up to Yugi for staying away from him and because of me he's been getting better, me and his friends. I won't let him know how I feel because I don't deserve him, but I know you don't either."

Duke was frozen where he stood. _What he's saying…he's saying…it's all true… _Duke bowed his head in defeat. "I know, but I still want to be with him. I want another chance to prove I can be a good friend to him."

"To who."

Yami and Duke looked to the door and saw Yugi looking at them curiously. "Nobody; forget it," the game creator replied. "Yugi, can I talk to you alone for a second?"

Yugi was hesitant, but a glance at Yami gave him the confidence and he nodded, walking side by side with him and away from Yami.

_Guess I'm not needed anymore. Yugi's too polite to say no… _Yami thought sadly. He made his way to the living room and collapsed on the couch; his thoughts all in a jumble.

He looked up a few seconds later and saw Yugi and Duke talking off to the side, the words drowned out by the noise of the party. The look of surprise that came over Yugi confirmed that Duke was telling him exactly what he feared. _Goodbye, Yugi… _He dropped his head and was about to make his way over to the refreshment table to tell Marik and Malik that he was leaving. He glanced up again when a shadow fell perpendicular to his.

"Yami, is it true?"

Yami's head shot up in surprise, "Yugi?"

"Is it true?"

"W-what true?"

Yugi didn't answer, but instead studied him for a minute, as if his eyes searched through his soul like an x-ray with a person. His amethyst eyes were holding something new as he looked at Yami and a tender smile covered his face after a second longer. His next words came at such a surprise.

"How was I to know your feelings if you never let it show?"

Yami was motionless he didn't know what to say, what to do. Instead, he looked across the crowded room and he saw just as Duke turned away and walked out of the room, the slightest of smiles covering his face. Looking back at Yugi, he still didn't know how to respond. Sensing this, Yugi took his hand and led them outside so they could be alone. The elder finally got his voice back as he gasped out, "How did you…"

"Duke told me."

"B-but why?"

"He didn't say much, just that while he was talking to you earlier that he realized how much you really felt for me when you admitted to not deserving me and how you wouldn't tell me and also that he understood what everyone else has been trying to tell him, however harshly it might've been. Duke told me that he wanted me to be happy and the only one he felt could give me that…"

Yami prepared himself for the worse. _Here it comes, when all my hopes come down and he tells me he wants to stay with Duke…_

"Was with you," Yugi finished. "He admitted to me that he realized he wasn't right for me and then about your feelings towards me; that you loved me."

Yami was speechless; what could he say. Duke gave him up when he had a chance to be with him again? When he swore he would get him and Yami wouldn't?

"Why weren't you going to tell me, Yami?"

Yami turned away, the stars the line of his vision, as he let everything out. "It's true," he said. "For a while now I've hoped and I've dreamed, loved you from far away. I cried in my dreams and wished on every star, but nothing I did seemed to get me closer to you so… so I locked all my feelings inside.

Bejeezies!!! I'm so sorry this took so long to get away. I knew how I wanted it to go, but it never seemed to come out just write. ARGH!! blush hehe, well, I'm finally satisfied with it so I hope you like it too. Enjoy!


	20. My Little Boy

A couple nights after Duke's extravagant party where all his plans got turned around on him, Yami and Yugi could be found laying in the younger's bed together with Yami's arms older the violet-eyed teen gently. Both were content to just stay like this forever, and not just because it was comfortable, but because it helped them both. Like this, Yugi got the shield he needed to keep nightmares of his past away and easily got more rest because of this. Yami's reason, slightly more personal, was so he could keep away from his father and not worry about his random drunken rages if he ever managed to wake up and swing a fist at him. It wasn't often, but it did happen.

Right then it the digital clock, which Yami had brought over from his place since Yugi's was so slow it was still three days behind, and it red in large, unwavering red numbers **3.00 am. **Yami shifted slightly to get feeling back into his right arm that Yugi was lying on and rested his head back against the pillow as his other hand continued playing with his boy's lock of hair.

_My boy _Yami thought with a smile. _That's right Yugi, you're my boy now. _"I won't let anyone come between now," he whispered, nuzzling his nose into the sensitive skin of the back of Yugi's neck.

"Good, because I don't plan on letting you go now. I've never been happier," Yugi answered with sleep coating every word.

"I'm glad. This is the best feeling I've ever had rolling through me before. For once, I actually feel alive. At first, I know I said I didn't believe in love and that it only hurts you and for a while, when I saw you with Duke, I thought I was proving myself right. Though, now I see that the hurt love causes you to feel only ends up strengthening the relationship instead."

"You learn a lot from only seeing a kiss on the cheek," Yugi teased, turning around to bury his face in Yami's cotton-clothed chest.

"And you'll never know how much that kiss truly broke me."

Yugi mumbled something incoherently, causing a smile to break out on Yami's face once more, and settled back down to fall asleep again. Yami, on the other hand, had more ideas on mind. He shifted forward and started placing butterflies kisses along his young lover's neck and up along his cheek before his lips were barely brushing against Yugi's.

"If you're going to tease, than you can just leave," Yugi grumbled, pressing his lips firmly against Yami's and rolling over so they were chest to chest.

"Mmm," Yami groaned in response, shifted so he could better access that sweet mouth.

Suddenly hands pressing insistently against his chest made him move away and he looked curiously at Yugi's bright amethyst eyes. "What's wrong," he questioned, worried if he'd done something wrong.

"It's…" he dragged out, "it's nothing."

"I know you better than that, Yugi," Yami pushed, "Please, tell me."

"It's just that…no, it's silly; you'll laugh."

"I promise that I won't laugh, Yugi. Am I going too fast?"

"No," Yugi said quickly, shaking his head, sliding down further underneath Yami with bright cheeks, trying to hide. "No, I like what we're doing. This is…"

"Yes," he urged.

"It's just that…that this is the first time I've been with someone and I really wanted to do it; really enjoyed myself. I like it," he whispered the last part.

"Do you not want to do it," Yami asked, still trying to found out what was causing Yugi to act so…conservative. Thinking this would be even more awkward for Yugi to answer, he moved away to allow his boyfriend to sit up.

Unknown to Yami, Yugi felt his heart crack when he moved away and he thought that maybe he had completely blown it. Thinking fast he said, "I was just short of breath. I want to keep going."

"Don't lie," Yami stated, not demanding, but his voice monotone and firm to show how serious he was trying to be. "It hurts more when you try to hide how you feel about something and then you lie about it to make other people happy."

Yugi looked away. "I didn't know I hurt you like that. I'm sorry."

"Please," Yami urged, "please, just tell me what's wrong and I promise that I won't do it again."

Just barely enough for Yami to hear, Yugi murmured, "It's something I did."

Yami glanced over at Yugi curiously, hurting over how lost he looked. He wanted to just wrap his arms around him and hold him tightly, but he didn't know if the gesture would be appreciated at this point. Before he could really make up his mind up about it, Yugi started speaking again.

"I'm sorry." Yami waited for him to continued, hoping he would continue. "I'm sorry that I can't give you what I wanted to give to the person I loved. I hated when I found this place and realized it was all I had left to come to. My first time…I cried. I cried the whole time and I wouldn't leave my room for a week afterwards. Then Malik helped me and told me it would get better. I'm sorry…that I couldn't give you my first."

"Don't be sorry about that, I can understand last resorts."

"But-"

Yami continued as though he hadn't spoken. "You told me yourself that this would the first time that you really wanted to do it and that you liked it, right? I'm glad to have even that. I'm…happy that you enjoy being with me…like this." He paused to catch his breath before he choked on it. "And somehow…somehow we'll get you out of this place, even if I have to pay the debts myself."

The younger of the two straightened up, a strange expression on his face. He shook his head firmly and announced, "I have no debts."

"You…don't," Yami questioned, watching him carefully.

"No, of course I don't. Yami, I can't leave here because this is all I've ever known. I'm scared to leave here because my friends are here and, though it may seem strange to other people, after leaving a home like I had this place is like a haven."

Yami looked away, somewhat embarrassed that he had assumed Yugi needed to pay someone and this was a last resort. _Why had I thought that? Yugi told me how he had gotten here so why did I just assume that he needed help with paying money? _

**Because he didn't know you very well when he told you **a little voice in his head told him.

_That's true, we didn't know each other very well when he told me how he got here. He could've just left some parts out. _

"Yami, are you okay," Yugi asked, pulling Yami away from his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine; just thinking. I'm sorry that I thought that you…"

"It's okay, that's what a lot of people are here for. Remember when I told you about Joey?"

Yami nodded, thinking back to when Yugi had mentioned Joey and how he wouldn't let his CEO boyfriend, Seto Kaiba, pay his debts for him because he wanted to prove he could take care of himself. "What about Ryou?"

"That's not place to say," Yugi admitted. "Our stories are personal to us and we don't tell them to just anybody. It's like an unspoken rule here."

"I see, so not everybody has debts here, just most of them?"

Yugi smiled, smiling childishly. He moved forward and kissed Yami lightly, pulled away with a teasing grin.

"You are not getting away with such a cheap kiss," Yami joked, pulling him back and pressing his lips more firmly.

Things were quiet for a time, until one humid day after all the customer's had left. Yugi woke up to gentle fingers caressing his face.

"Morning," he mumbled tiredly, flinching as his back burned lightly from one of his rougher customer's.

"Does it hurt bad," Yami asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It'll go away in a bit," he brushed it off. "Can you hand me that red bottle in the drawer?"

A second later the cool cylinder was placed in his head and he snapped it up open wordlessly before popping two pills into his mouth and swallowing them dryly with a disgusted expression all the while.

"You should've asked for some water," Yami smirked when his younger other looked back up at him.

"I'm used to it."

They just looked at each other for a minute, Yami wanting to say something about him getting out of here for good and Yugi just wanting to ask to be held and never let go, when a sudden, loud shout of joy echoed throughout the halls. Yugi immediately jumped off the bed, pulling some pants on even as he headed for the door, not noticing Yami's short expression of jealously and hurt, and poked his head his head out; him and several others did the same along the hall.

The next thing that any of them knew, Seto Kaiba was sprinting down the hall and around the corner and Yugi felt his heart start to race. _What happened to Joey? _

Ryou walked next to his side and they shared a short glance before the nodded and started chasing after the millionaire.

They were gasping slightly as they peered into Joey's room and their eyes widened when they saw Seto holding their blonde friend tightly, both honey-colored and icy-blue eyes were shedding tears, but both had expressions of pure bliss.

Once Joey noticed them, he pulled away from Seto and hurried towards them. They now saw he had a few hundreds clenched tightly in his hands and he wrapped his arms around both their necks.

"Yugi, I'm done," he cried happily. "I'm out of here for good, I can finally go home with Seto and live normally. I've never been so happy in my life."

The younger felt his heart race faster at the excitement he felt. "Joey," he chocked. "Joey, that's wonderful. I'm so happy for you." He meant it too. He knew how Joey was looking forward to this moment for years. There had been problems when he got together with Seto, but everything had worked out in the end.

The CEO wrapped his arms around his lover's waist once Joey had pulled away from the two of them and rested his chin on his shoulder. "I heard you all the way outside, puppy," he chuckled. "Never been so scared in my life."

Marik grinned at the happy couple, making a mental note to cross out all previously made appointments for Joey. He made good, close friends at the whorehouse, but he was always happier when they left even if he never got to see them again. He pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and headed for his office to wait for Malik to make his usual morning appearance.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him though and he glanced over to see Yami with a cold look tinted in his eyes.

"Can I help you with something, Yami," he asked cautiously.

"Yeah," Yami glowered, "I'd hope so. Can we go to your office?"

"Certainly," he answered slowly, not sure what could put Yami in such a mood.

After the office door was closed Marik and Yami started at each other for a minute, both wondering what they should say or if they should wait for the other to start. Finally, with a sigh, Yami gave into the inevitable. He asked to come here so he knew he should start. _Yugi's going to hate me when he finds out. _

"I don't want Yugi coming here anymore," he ordered.

Malik's violet eyes widened at the demand, but he sat down with a tired sigh and rubbed his eyes. He could vaguely remember the same conversation with Seto Kaiba a couple years ago. _And that one had ended up so well _he thought sarcastically, thinking of how Joey had burst into the room and had to hold Seto back from hitting him. Giving in, he shook and his head and answered in a firm voice, "No."

Yami's hands slammed on the desk angrily. "Why the hell not," he shouted, fire burning in his eyes.

"It's his decision whether or not he leaves here."

"But he doesn't owe anything," he argued. "I don't want him working here; he doesn't even have a good reason for staying other than he's too scared to leave."

"That seems like a reasonable answer to me," Malik answered, trying to stay calm.

"Don't you have him under any kind of contract that you could just rip up to force him to leave," Yami tried desperately.

"Yami, don't you think I would've tried something to get him to leave already? He's comfortable here and if he doesn't wish to leave yet than I won't force him. It's true that I own this place and control who comes in and out of here, but I do not force anybody who works here to leave unless it's absolutely unavoidable."

"Than make it unavoidable!"

Marik sighed again, sagging against his chair as he realized this was going to go exactly like Seto's conversation. "Has he committed murder?"

"What," Yami asked incredulously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Has he?"

"No," Yami sputtered.

"Is he endangering his customer's health in any way?"

"No."

"Is he taking illegal drugs?"

"No," Yami shouted, his anger starting to rise.

"Than I can't force him to leave. Those were my rules for a force leave when people come looking for work here. Any other reason and the person in question as a say in whether or not they leave," Marik explained.

"But-"

"Yami, I'm sorry. I truly am, but I can't force him to leave unless he's broken those rules. I have asked him several times why he stays here when he can easily care for himself and he keeps saying that he wants to stay here and the conversation ends there, just like this one is doing now." He stood and opened the door just as he finished, gesturing for Yami to leave, his eyes closed. This was when Seto had let his anger get the better of him.

Yami wanted to do something, anything, to make himself feel better about not achieving what he wanted: break apart the desk, rip up a dictionary and throw the pages, smash glasses, hit someone beyond recognition…but he knew Yugi wouldn't like him to become any of those things. So, instead, he took a long breath and forced himself out the door…and straight into Yugi.

"You couldn't ask me to leave for yourself so you ask the person who lets me stay here," Yugi asked angrily.

"It's not like that, Yugi," Yami tried defending himself.

"Then what is it like, Yami, because the only thing I can see this being is you trying to make Marik force me out of the only place that's ever been a true home to me. Or am I missing part of the beginning of the conversation?"

"No, Yugi, you didn't miss anything. You're right, but please just listen to me…"

"It hurts, Yami," Yugi turned away from him, "it hurts that you felt the need to talk to Marik before you even bothered coming to me. At least Seto had tried that with Joey first." He stepped slowly down the hall and Yami, swallowing harshly around the forming tennis ball in his throat, followed him like a charged man going to his death sentence.

After the door was firmly shut behind him, Yami flinching at the loud noise after minutes of pure silence, more of the foreboding quiet followed them until Yugi sighed, dropping onto the bed.

"What's wrong," Yugi finally asked. "Why don't you want me here where my family is?"

Yami didn't want to say anything. _Could he understand _he fought with himself, _does he want the same things I do? _

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to be spending the day alone for a while," Yugi asked, striking Yami where he knew it would hurt. He knew Yami enjoyed their days alone together and cherished them more than anything because he knew he couldn't spend many nights together in each other's arms. Taking something like that away would no doubt have Yami start panicking before he finally confessed what had made him do something like go to Marik, even when it didn't change anything.

Indeed, what Yugi had said did cause Yami's chest to ache something terrible. He always spent time with Yugi and he would hate it if that time got taken away. Finally, swallowing everything he had in him, he mumbled under his breath.

A hand on his cheek made him look up and he felt his heart skip a beat at the pain swirling in Yugi's amethyst depths. "Please," Yugi begged, "I want to be with you, but I can't if you aren't going to be honest with me."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around Yugi, drawing his strength from him. "I want to be your family, Yugi. I want to be the one you turn to and not your friends. I want," he faltered nervously, "I want you to leave here and come with me; to live with me." Pausing again to swallow, he continued, "I don't like how other people get to spend the night with you. I don't like how other people get to touch you or kiss you or hold you like I want to. I want to be the only one in your life even if you don't care for those people that come to you."

When Yugi's warm hand left his cheek and he gulped nervously, wondering if he'd overdone it. When that soft voice said that one thing that made him feel like his whole word had gone crashing…

"You should've just told me and it would have saved you a trip to Marik's office. I'd like nothing more than to be with you."

…upwards.

A large smile broke out Yami's face and he held Yugi even tighter against him, pressing his lips firmly against his boy's. _My boy…now and forever. I can't ever lose him. _

Okay, I know there was supposed to be a lemon in this, but I came up with something better because of what one of my reviewers had mentioned, I can't think of who right now. Anywhere, there's still going to be a lemon, in the next chapter if anything, but I'm very certain it will be. Hope you weren't disappointed though.


	21. Troubles with the HomeLife

Yugi stared aimlessly into the now empty room Joey moved out of. He'd been gone for almost a week and the amethyst-eyed teen still found himself at Joey's door, missing the blonde even more than the last day. He felt barren inside without his best friend there with him, but he was grateful he still had at least one of them.

"Malik told me the good news," a familiar English accent of Ryou noted from behind him.

"Yeah," Yugi noted dully.

"You don't sound very happy about getting out of here. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the younger sighed, "just the big change and wondering what will happen next."

"If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way."

"What do you mean," Yugi asked, turning around to look at his albino-haired friend.

"I'm leaving too," Ryou stated with a soft smile on his face.

"You paid off you debts," he exclaimed incredulously.

"Yugi," Ryou said calmly, looking away with a look of shame covering his face, "my debts have been paid off for almost five months now."

"What," Yugi squeaked, eyes widening with disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me? Why haven't you left yet?"

"I was worried for you so I asked Marik if I could stick around for a while longer, just until I was sure you were going to be okay. I also managed to convince Bakura to let me stay as well and he was agreeable as long as there weren't any more customers. I knew Joey would be leaving soon, sometime this year, and I didn't want you to be by yourself with only Malik when he's only got a few weeks left himself."

"I didn't even notice you weren't getting any customers," Yugi admitted, looking at the floor. "I didn't pay any attention to you at all and I was wound up in my own problems."

"It's not your fault, Yugi. You've had a lot of things happening all at once lately, but you can finally settle down and live happily and normally."

Yugi turned back to the empty room, a hand resting gently on his heart, "I love him, Ryou; I do. I just hope I'm doing the right thing going to live with him."

He heard Ryou step up behind him and the next thing he knew he was wrapped up tightly in the older teen's arms and he rested comfortably against his chest. "Don't worry, Yugi, I can tell that Yami is good for you. He's got a job and he wouldn't let anyone or thing hurt you as long as he can help you. He'll be everything you need in your life and more and he'll listen to you if you don't like something or want something."

"Yeah," Yugi breathed, his chest lightening slightly, "You're right. This is such a big change; it seems like this place is the only thing I know…but now, with Yami, I'm scared."

"Scared," Ryou questioned, holding on tighter for comfort.

"Yes, this place is all I've known besides hatred and pain and I'm scared of being with Yami because it won't be the same. It's the complete opposite."

"Have you talked about that with him, yet? Told him that you might not feel ready to…be with him in that way?"

"It's been somewhat mentioned."

"Somewhat?"

"We talked about doing it sort of, but I didn't say I was scared about it, just that I felt bad he couldn't be my first and give him what most lovers do."

"I see; Bakura and I were the same way when we were ready to be together."

"You were," Yugi asked, looking up at him the best he could. "What happened; you're obviously happy with him."

"Yes, happier than I've ever been," Ryou admitted, a glazed look passing over his features. "We didn't do anything for a while, he waited for me to be ready to confront all I've known and now every time I'm with him I can feel free and happy. He knows that with my customers they liked me to be submissive and just lay there like a helpless girl because of my feminine appearance so Bakura makes sure to give me space in case I wanted to take over a lot of the times, He's always sure to tell me when it's not okay to be with him though because of his health problems because he doesn't want to hurt me."

"Do you think Yami would mind waiting for me? I don't think I could start having an…an intimate relation with him like that yet, not with being at this place for so long."

"The only one who could answer that is Yami himself," Ryou answered sadly, "I wish I could help you more." A sudden, low beeping noise sounded from the albino's wrist and he pushed back his sleep and looked at it for a second before untangling himself from Yugi. "I got to go now, got to make sure Bakura takes his medication before things get bad and I need to finish packing too."

"Yeah, I still need to finish up some things too," Yugi waved him off. He watched his friend go before turning the other way for his room.

Yami was sitting on the bed, reading a magazine with a strange look on his face. When he noticed Yugi in the doorway he looked up, "Hey." He waved the magazine at him, "You read interesting material."

A blush on the younger's face and he crossed the room quickly, all but running, and grabbed the magazine from him and hid it from Yami's eyes. "Malik gave to me when I first came here," he explained, "for some pointers."

"Is that why you don't like sex toys," he asked seriously.

Yugi looked away embarrassedly, admitting in a quiet voice, "Yes. I probably wouldn't have been so bad with them if I had tried them first rather than reading about them. The things they say just make it sound horrible and painful, but Malik said they don't hurt at all. I'm just not in a hurry to find out for myself after that." After a second he stared at Yami curiously, "How did you know I don't like toys? I never told you."

The older smirked and glanced casually around the room, "I heard some people talking about it when I was walking here one down, somewhere down the hall."

Another blush rose on the amethyst-eyed teen's cheeks and he refused to meet Yami's eyes. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Of course," Yami stood up, wrapping his arms around the teen and held him gently. "I picked up the last few things while you were talking with Ryou. It looked like you needed some personal time; I hope you don't mind." Yugi shook his head. "So are you ready to go now or did you need to say goodbye to anyone else?" Another shake from the teen and he led them out the door, closing the cracked and worn wood behind them.

Entering the apartment and stepping in caused shivers to course through Yugi slightly, looking around cautiously like something was about to jump out at any second.

"Can I get you anything," Yami asked suddenly, startling the young man.

"Something to drink," Yugi asked quietly.

No problem, anything particular. I made sure I stocked up as best as I could because I didn't know all that you liked."

A blush covered Yugi's cheeks and he muttered, "You didn't have to do that."

Yami came over and wrapped his arms around Yugi tightly, resting his cheek against the other's. "I wanted to," he admitted, "I wanted to make sure you were comfortable here, this is your home now." He pulled away and startled looking through some cupboards, "Tell you what, I'll get us some hot chocolate and we can hang out in my room and fest out on movies."

Yugi nodded, even though Yami didn't see it, and glanced around. "Where's your dad?"

"I don't know, some big city or something," Yami answered, putting two mugs into an old-looking microwave. "He said it was for work, but I think he just wanted to have a drink without me buggering him about it."

"How long will he be gone?"

"Never can tell when he decides to take random trips like that. It's better this way though because you'll have time to get settled without worrying about him."

Yugi smiled, going over to Yami and resting his head against his back as he stirred chocolate into the warm water. When he was handed a glass he tapped it against Yami's jokingly. "I think," he said before taking a small sip, "That I'm glad I came here with you."

Yugi had been living with Yami for almost three months now when he found himself staring out the window one late evening. _Three months and you'd think a lot would've happened, but nothing has. _

There'd only been one word from Yami's father since he'd been there and it was surprise the two had gotten a call at all. It turned out Yami's father met a girl in one of the bars and he decided to stay with her rather than going back to the apartment. Yami had said only one thing to him besides hello before hanging up and that was, "That's real responsible of you dad." They had watched horror movies the rest of the day, nothing said between them except for goodnight when they started falling asleep.

The next day wasn't as tense and Yami took Yugi out to ice-cream as an apology for acting weird the day before; that had been a couple months ago.

Now Yugi sighed as he stared out the apartment window, not sure what to do until Yami came back home from his job. He usually watched movies for the five lonely hours, but today he just didn't feel like it. He hadn't been feeling very together for a week and he was glad Yami hadn't noticed it.

_Yami _Yugi thought, sighing and creating a large foggy puff on the glass. _He's why I feel like this. _He slumped down on the floor and knocked his head against the wall a few times, groaning with frustration. _I want to be with him, but I can't bring myself to get over my time at the whorehouse. I feel weird being here and, at the same time, I'm happy. I know he wants it too but I just can't yet. _

The door opened and he sat up lazily, watching put a bag on the floor and go down the hall. He heard his name called and he waited for Yami to come back down the hall.

"There you are," he said as the crimson-eyed teen when he saw Yugi on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

"Thinking," Yugi answered, making swirling, random designs on the floor.

"About what," Yami questioned, sitting down on the floor next to the amethyst-eyed teen.

"Yami, are you disappointed with me?"

"What," the older breathed, eyes swirling with designs.

"It's been three months since I left…since I came here and nothing's happened."

"What did you expect to happen, Yugi? I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I mean between us," Yugi cried embarrassedly, "haven't you wanted anything to happen between up!"

Yami moved away as Yugi went into hysterics, not sure what to do. _Isn't Yugi happy here with me? _"I still don't understand," he admitted.

"Sex, Yami," Yugi blatantly shouted, not seeming embarrassed at all except for the small pink that covered his cheeks. "Haven't you wanted to do it with me at all?"

Yami settled back down, resting against Yugi comfortably, "I would love to be with you more than anything. Malik called the a few days after we left and mentioned that he found something that you might want so I went to get it while you were sleeping a couple months ago. I ran into Ryou who was finishing a few things still and he admitted to what you two were talking about the day we left."

Yugi's eyes widened with realization and he turned away embarrassedly, tearing brimming his eyes. "You were waiting for me," he choked out.

"Yes, I didn't want to do anything unless you were ready."

The younger glanced at Yami shyly, slowly moving forward slightly and, before the older could do anything, pressed his lips to the other's, moving so close he was sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around his neck tightly to deepen the kiss further. It wasn't until his hands started wandering down his shirt and his hips wiggled suggestively that Yami pushed him away.

"You don't want to," Yugi asked, hurt filling his eyes.

"Not like this, Yugi, I won't do it with you acting like this. That's going to be a special time for us whether or not either of us has already done it hundreds of times with someone else or not. You're only doing this because you feel you have to," Yami accused, looking away.

"It's not fair to you to have to wait so long for me to get over something so stupid!"

"I'm going to wait for you, Yugi, whether you believe it's fair to me or not."

"What if I am ready now," the younger insisted, wanting to make Yami happy.

"You don't sound like you are, you sound just like you're trying to satisfy everyone else and not yourself; I won't let you do that to yourself." He stood up and walked into the kitchen, leaving Yugi sitting on the floor. He hadn't walked away, but he knew Yugi was only going to argue more and he wasn't sure he would be able to hold out if the younger kept insisting he was ready when he knew he wasn't. _It's going to be special for our first time and not some random event _Yami promised himself.

Yugi sat on the floor long after Yami had left him there, tears streaming down his red cheeks with frustration. He stood, wiped his face roughly, and stalked out the door.

The amethyst-eyed teen stood in front of Marik's office not twenty minutes later. He was opting whether to knock or just turn around and go back to Yami's apartment (unable to think of it as his too just yet). He didn't have much of a choice when the door suddenly opened and Marik stood staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

"I could feel you standing there, Yugi," he smirked. "Can I help you with something?"

"I need to…I mean, that is…there's something I need to talk with you about. Do you have a while?"

Marik smiled and nodded, stepping aside for Yugi to walk into the office. He closed the door and locked it so no one would bother them, sensing it was something important, at least to Yugi, and wanted to make him feel comfortable. The sat down, Marik behind his desk and Yugi in a stiff, wooden chair with a moth-eaten cushion facing him.

"Why did I come here," Yugi asked, getting straight to the point. "When I first came here, what did I say to you?"

"You said you needed a place to stay with a good pay and this place was recommended."

"Anything else," Yugi pressed on urgently.

"You did mention that you weren't going to come out of your room for anything and that you wouldn't get along with anybody here since you didn't want to be here, but it was your last option. Also, that you weren't going to be polite to any of your customers or anybody else that stayed here," he joked, remembering that one-sided conversation well.

Yugi flushed and looked away embarrassedly. "I didn't have any want to be a prostitute and have sex every night then," he continued quietly. "I didn't want to have anything to do with it?"

"Yes, you're the only person who made sure I knew that well; it's partly the reason you didn't have any customers for a while," he smirked again.

Yugi took this in for a while before softly asking, "What happened after that?"

"You stalked in, upset, and asking why nobody was coming in. I explained that you were new and that you blatant announcement that you're weren't going to agreeable with the customers tended to make customers steer clear from you. So you said you were going to try."

"Try," Yugi looked up.

"Yes, and it worked quite well. You became used to situation and calmed down after getting used to your new lifestyle."

"Try," Yugi repeated to himself, feeling lighter inside somewhere and knowing what it meant somehow. He stood up, nodding his head at Marik, and walked out the door. He spent the rest of the day out, wandering around until it became too dark out. Heading home, finally being able to call it that after the short conversation with Marik, and felt better than he had been in the three months his 'profession' ended.

"Yami," Yugi called out throughout the apartment. He heard someone in the kitchen and he saw Yami sitting at the table, sitting completely still except for the slight tremors in his shoulders. His head was laying on his arms, face hidden from view.

"What's wrong, Yami," Yugi asked, sitting next to him.

Crimson eyes looked up, red rimming the rare irises. Their owner stared at him for a second before clutching him tightly, mumbling into Yugi's shirt that he was scared he wouldn't come back.

Yugi smiled softly, holding Yami and rubbing comforting circles into his back. "I'm here, Yami," he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I wasn't sure how you'd react when I refused you after being used to people coming to you for just that reason. I thought you were mad and I tried looking for you and I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I went to talk to Marik about something."

"You aren't going back, are you," Yami's eyes widened frightenly, scared he might lose Yugi.

"No, no, I'm not going to become what I was again. I just needed to discuss a few things from him. Things are going to be better from now on; I promise."


	22. Turn of Events

The next day's tension had noticeably decreased from the day before and both Yami and Yugi were relieved for that. They sat together on the couch finishing the last of the movie they'd been watching the night before, having fallen asleep in the middle of it.

Yugi was curled up on his side, resting his head on Yami's lap with one hand fisting the material of his boyfriend's jeans tightly every time something seemed to jump out from the screen (which was quite often to Yugi) while Yami was sitting in the corner of the couch tangling his fingers in Yugi's soft tresses. Both were quite content to be lazy for a while, glad that they had surpassed yet another one of life's obstacles the day before.

The phone suddenly rang, startling Yugi enough to jump up and huddle against Yami even more. A large blush burned his cheeks, however, when he realized that the ringing was only just that. Yami chuckled at him and ruffled his hair once before sliding lazily off the couch to answer the persistent call.

While Yami was on the phone Yugi paused the movie and stared at the frozen picture of two zombies pulling on a girl's arm while the woman clung for her life to a telephone pole. He didn't care much for the movie, but Yami had said it was one of his favorite childhood horrors that he wanted to share with him. Shivering at the image, he turned around to stare at the object of his love, kneeling on the couch with his head resting in his arms, which were laying on the back of the sofa. Another blush rose to his cheeks as he remembered the day before and knowing he was over that stage of his life.

_An abusive home, a school with no friends, my sister dead, years of prostitution, and now I'm finally allowed to live a normal life with someone I love close to me. I can finally be with him in the way I've wanted to be since I realized how in love with him I really am. _

He stood from the couch and walked over to Yami, who hadn't noticed his approach. Yugi felt him jump slightly and pause in what he was saying into the phone to look over his shoulder and give Yugi a curious look. Smiling at him, he turned back to the phone. Yugi stayed where he was, his arms encircling Yami's waist with his head resting in the small of his back. He wished he could stay forever with Yami, just like this. No danger ever came to him when he was with Yami, nothing bad has ever happened.

"What exactly has gotten into you all of a sudden," Yami asked as soon as he replaced the phone onto its cradle.

"Nothing," Yugi answered innocently. "Aren't I allowed to be affectionate with you?"

"While it is appreciated, you don't usually do that; especially when I'm on the phone." He turned in Yugi's loose embrace and placed his hands on Yugi's slim hips.

"I thought you might like it," the younger smiles. "It sounded boring so I thought you could use some cheering up."

"Really? Boring, was it? What was I talking about again anyway?" Yami smirked at the broken expression on Yugi's face. "That was my older brother," He answered after a minute.

"I didn't know you had an older brother," Yugi stated curiously. "Is he like you?"

A mock-hurt look appeared on Yami's face as he accused, "Do you plan on leaving me so easily?"

"Yami, you know that's not true."

"Very well," he joked, pulling away from Yugi to go look out the window and down at the street below. "We haven't gotten along very well so I prefer not to talk about him very often. He's called every now and then though because he knows how dad can be. He just wanted to let me know that I have a niece as of last night."

Yugi had a confused and lost look on his face when Yami started explaining about his only other relative besides his father, but his face broke out into a smile when he mentioned his newborn niece. "That's great, Yami! Will I be able to see her? What's his wife like?"

Yami sighed and glanced over his shoulder at Yugi. "I didn't even know he was married," he whispered.

The younger immediately calmed down, eyes wide with disbelief. "That's horrible, why didn't he tell you?"

The crimson-eyed teen just shook his head and moved to wrap his arms tightly around Yugi. "It's for the best that we weren't that close. He doesn't care much for…well, people like us, Yugi; people who prefer their own sex to the opposite."

"I see, so either way you wouldn't get along because if you were close he'd start to wonder."

"Exactly," Yami tightened his arms around Yugi and hid his face in the soft spikes. "I'd rather feel like an only child with some guy who calls every now and then than a little brother with a sibling who hates me because of my sexual preferences."

"My sister would've understood," Yugi whispered to himself.

"Hmm," Yami moaned, showing he hadn't heard.

"Nothing," Yugi pulled away. In a need to change the mood, he grasped Yami's arms tightly and pressed his lips desperately to Yami's. He had wanted Yami to start something, but after yesterday he was certain he wasn't going to get that. When Yami didn't do much of anything but respond to the kiss, he moved his arms and maneuvered his hands underneath the light, thin shirt to tease the skin underneath.

Yami's eyes widened and he pushed from Yugi, still afraid that it was still too soon. Yugi only held a putout look for a second before moving forward again. He placed a small, butterfly kiss on Yami's cheek and placed one after another until he reached a delicately shaped ear. After sucking lightly on the lobe he whispered sensuously, "Please, Yami, please be with me now."

"Yugi, I…" He was forced to stop as Yugi started moving down, sucking and biting at just the right spots. How Yugi knew the right places for Yami, he would never know. All he knew was that he couldn't speak without making some very audible squeaks. Instead, he settled for just worrying his lower lip as his hands clenched his boyfriend's shoulders tightly as he paid extra special attention to the juncture of his neck and shoulder. His eyes closed of their own accord and he couldn't help the continuous shivers running down the spine of his back.

Everything seemed to be going great for the both, neither wanted the sudden euphoria they found to end. When the clothes started to be removed however, Yami noticed a sudden change in Yugi's behavior. He was acting more automatic and looked more like a robot following a given order rather that how he was only a few minutes before when Yami had stepped away from him. Regretfully, he pushed Yugi away, knowing that his would-be lover would be absolutely devastated to know what he'd done during their first time together.

_No matter how great it would feel with him, I won't let him do that. That part of his life is over and I won't let him continue it when he doesn't want it to. _

Yugi gave him a confused look when he was shoved away, his eyes clearing up slightly as he looked up at his lover with hurt filled eyes. The way his boyfriend was looking away from him though was more than enough for him to know he'd gone on autopilot and treated Yami like another customer. Tears brimmed his eyes and he blinked to let them slide down his cheeks, falling like his hopes of ever being freed from his life at the whorehouse.

"Gods, Yami, I'm so sorry. I never meant to…"

The crimson-eyed teen cut him off by brushing his fingers over his kiss-swollen lips and placing a chaste kiss on a flushed cheek.

"You just weren't as ready as you thought you were. I'll wait for you until the end of time, Yugi. So take your time."

Yugi sighed, disappointed in himself for falling into his old ways no matter how much he didn't want to go back to it. _How could I have just treated him like any other person? That hurts more than the fact that I just made an idiot of myself by thinking I was ready to move on when I apparently wasn't. _

He only nodded in response and turned down the hall. "I'm going to take a nap," he said quietly, answering Yami's silent question.

The next days were silent in the apartment. Yami hated his depressed boyfriend alone to wallow in his thoughts about the incident the day before, but knew he'd end up regretting not going to work when the rent for the room came. Instead, he would write a least a page of a note to Yugi each morning before he left, hoping that would help Yugi come out of the shell he'd encased himself in. Yugi stayed mostly in his and Yami's room, laying in bed with the blankets hiding his prone form. It was only when hunger and his cracked throat got the better of him that he allowed himself to slip from his haven underneath the covers to find some water and a nibble on a little something. It was a little over a week after his mistake and he caught sight of the three pieces of paper, each dated with that day's date on top and then yesterday's, then the day before and so on. Each of them had his name written on the top in Yami's sloppy, yet legible scrawl. Curiously, ignoring his growling stomach for the time being, he sat down with his glass of water and read them.

Tears were leaking silently down his cheeks midway down the second one when someone started knocking insistently on the door. Glancing up at the counter where Yami left his key, his face scrunched up as he stood and wiped his eyes on his sleeve thinking: _We've never had visitors before and Yami say anything before that would hint people coming over. Maybe it's someone from downstairs coming to complain, but I can't think of why. _

When he opened the door, however, his eyes widened at the vision of a much older looking Yami standing in the doorway. The man had to be somewhere in his mid-twenties and had the same piercing red eyes that Yami did. The difference was that the man's hair was in much shorter and his bangs were obscuring half of his face, only allowing his eyes to be seen. Another difference Yugi noticed, however small it seemed, was that the strange man resembling his boyfriend had a small scar in the shape of an skewed 'X' on his right cheek.

"Y-yes, can I help you," Yugi stumbled over his words, not sure how to respond the picture in front of him.

"You aren't Yami, who the hell are you?"

"Nile, dear, don't frighten him. He looks scared enough as it is," a woman stated calmly behind the man. Yugi jumped slightly as he hadn't noticed her before.

She was a pretty women with long chestnut hair with light red highlights streaking her hair, all pulled back into a messy ponytail, her bangs the only part not pulled back with the pieces framing her gentle face. Her azure eyes were bright and cheerful, alight with a unheard laughter. She looked to only be a little younger than the man standing in front of her and in her arms was a small baby nestled under a thick, violet blanket and fast asleep.

"Fine," the man, Nile, said. "Where's Yami," he repeated grumpily, albeit more politely than before.

"I'm here," Yami's familiar voice replied. Yugi jumped, not having seen his boyfriend approaching from down the corridor. "Aren't scaring my company, are you, Nile? What are you doing here?" His eyes were narrowed suspiciously, not paying any mind to the young lady beside him or the baby in his arms.

"I thought you might like to meet your niece. Corrine insisted that she come see you once she got out of the hospital."

"I see," his eyes shifted to the lady at last, but only nodded. "Very well, come in." He led the way inside, red eyes shining lightly at Yugi when he saw him out of bed, but didn't say anything.

The three sat in the living room, but Yugi wasn't sure what to do so he decided to get a bagel out of the fridge and then go back to the bedroom until Yami's brother and sister-in-law left. When he tried sneaking unnoticeably down the hall, however, Yami called him back.

"Please, Yugi, you're welcome to join us too." Hesitantly, Yugi sat beside Yami, but not too close, remembering what Yami had told him about his brother hating homosexuals.

"And who exactly is this person, Yami," his brother asked suspiciously.

"A good friend of mine; his parents kicked him out a while ago so he's staying with me until he can find some place permanent."

Yugi's heart leaped into his throat and blood pounded in his eyes. He pushed threatening tears away at how smooth of a lie it sounded, even to his ears even though he knew it was life. It just hurt how easily it had come from Yami's lips and he found it hard to believe it was only a lie.

_No, he loves me _Yugi tried to reason with himself. _He's only saying this because his brother would throw a fit and he probably doesn't want that right now. _

"I see, and where exactly did you live before," the brother questioned Yugi.

"N-no place important really, just the slums a little ways from here," Yugi fibbed. _There's no way he's going to believe me! Even I didn't believe that _he panicked.

"Really," his eyebrow rose.

"Nile, you're frightening the poor guy again," the woman, Corrine Yugi reminded himself, scolded. "It's alright, he's just grumpy that I made him take me here to meet Yami. Don't take anything he says to heart."

Yugi nodded, but didn't feel anymore comfortable than before.

Itching to get away, the amethyst-eyed boy stood but didn't know what to do when Yami gave him a curious look. Seeing his glass of water still sitting on the table he headed over to it. "Would anyone like anything to drink," he asked politely, looking straight at Yami to prevent stuttering. The way he was acting the older brother was certain to figure it out and then Yami would most likely be disappointed that he couldn't act for a little while and keep his cool like he could.

"No," Nile grumped out, staring insistently at his brother, eyes narrowed.

"No thank you, Yugi," Yami answered courteously.

"Yes, actually," Corrine replied with a smile. "Some juice would be nice if you have any, Yami?"

"I think there's some in the freezer, Yugi," Yami answered after pausing for a second to think.

"Okay," he turned into the kitchen to look. He found some frozen in a small container on the bottom shelf and took it out to make it. He almost dropped the pitcher of half-filled water all over the floor when a hand tapped him on the back. Corrine was giving him a concerned look when he glanced around to look at who was there. She was holding the baby, which suggested she must've left it with her disgruntled husband or Yami, who Yugi could tell was forcing to keep his anger at bay.

"I hope my husband isn't scaring you away. I told him to be nice, but it's obvious he isn't listening."

"No, no of course," Yugi found himself saying, though he knew the woman could tell he was lying. At least he wasn't stuttering anymore.

"It was Yugi, wasn't it?"

"Yes, was there something else you needed?"

"That's such a nice name to have," she complimented. "It suits you. I barely know anything about you, but I can tell that you're very sweet."

Yugi blushed and looked away. "Thank you."

"Right, well, I don't want to embarrass you," she chuckled, his laugh sounding like soft bells. "Yami said that I could have some milk for the baby and I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. In all honesty, I'd rather be in here," he admitted, going to the fridge again to retrieve the milk.

She chuckled again and took the milk Yugi got for her. "I don't blame you. My friends still bother me about how I ever fell in love with. He's sweet when he wants to be, but it's his temper I worry about. Every day he has something new to grumble about. Lately, it's been about how his father just left Yami alone by himself for another woman. I can see now that he's going to be okay. Do you take care of him all alone here?"

"It's more like he takes care of me really."

"That's right. Your old home was abusive? That must've been horrible. I can't even imagine going through that kind of pain," she mentioned, putting the milk in a bottle she brought with her and setting it in the microwave.

"It…it wasn't my old home," Yugi found himself saying, feeling like he can trust her.

"What do you mean?"

"My first home, with my parents, was abusive, after I'd lost my sister. I went to…another home after that and stayed with some friends working for them, but I my friends were…leaving since they paid off the debts they had owed to other people and no reason to stay there anymore. I didn't want to be alone so Yami took me in."

"I see, that's so sweet of him. I didn't know what to think of Yami after everything Nile told me."

"He's a great person, if not a little hard at times, but he treats me just fine. I don't know what I would do without him." _Probably still be with Duke _Yugi finished silently. He wasn't going to mention that though in case she was the same way as her husband in that line of thinking.

The microwave beeped and she pulled out the warm milk. "It was nice talking with you, Yugi," she smiled again before going back into the living room.

Yugi heaved a sigh of relief, glad that she seemed to believe him, even though he didn't really lie about anything. He finished with the juice and poured himself a glass as well as one for Corrine. Going back into the living room he smiled politely as he handed her a glass and nodded when she thanked him.

Yami and Nile were in complete silence, both identical in the way they sat with their arms crossed impatiently over their chests. Corrine just rolled her eyes at them and started to feed the baby.

"Err," Yugi started, not sure if he should say anything. He tried to ignore the glare being sent his way from Yami's older brother and instead focused on his question. "What's the baby's name?"

"Her name's Emerald," Corrine answered proudly, smiling up at Yugi. The amethyst-eyed teen smiled back and stared curiously at the baby, wondering if his parents ever acted so proudly about him. He knew they had to be of his older sister if their personality changed after her death like they did. Heaving a mental sigh, he tried to push that past behind him.

"She has pretty eyes," he murmured as the brown with blue speckled eyes stared at him, wide and curious.

"We think so too," Nile grumbled, standing up and motioning to Corrine. "It's time she had a nap as well now that she's had something to eat. Let's go, Corrine."

"Where are you staying," Yugi asked, noticing Yami wasn't going to.

"We found a small hotel not far from here while driving over. We'll stay there until we decide to go back home." It looked like Nile was going to say something else, but a glare from Corrine stopped him. Yugi suppressed a laugh. She acted sweet, but she certainly knew how to take care of an unwilling participant like Nile.

"So you'll be coming around again later?"

"I was thinking about it. After everything that's happened, a little vacation from home seemed like a good idea. That's why I asked Nile to bring me to see Yami in the first place."

"Sounds good to me," Yugi stated. "It was nice meeting you."

"And you as well, Yugi," she smiled.

Yami closed the door after they left. "You seem happier. What brought you out of bed," he asked, trying to get his mind off his brother being in town.

"I was hungry," he whispered, suddenly self-conscious without the distraction of company.

"Oh," Yami walked over to the couch to pick up the empty glasses and brought them to the kitchen. He glanced at the table and noticed the notes scattered on the table.

"Thank you for notes," Yugi said softly from the doorway. "I'm sorry I've been acting so…"

"Didn't tell you not to apologize," Yami smirked, suddenly in front of Yugi. "I told you I'd wait forever, didn't I?" He leant down and placed a gentle, loving kiss on Yugi's lips. "Are you going back to bed now," He asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.

Yugi glanced at the notes before quickly shaking his head. "No, I want to be with you. Being in bed is only going to make me feel worse. Can't I just be with you," he asked, eyes innocently wide.

"Of course you can, Yugi. I'd nothing more." And he led him over to the couch and sat together, not doing or saying anything.

I'm thinking just one or two more chapters. Did ya like the sudden turn of events? Or did I just make a really big mistake? I thought it would be a nice twist but some feedback about it would be nice? I know some of you are just aching for the lemon to come.


	23. Search and Rescue

Yelling arose Yugi the next morning while the sky was still dark out. Yami wasn't with him so he shifted over on the bed to see the clock. It read 2.30. He just figured that Yami went to hush up the people shouting and turned over to go back to sleep.

Shortly after he closed his eyes the yelling died down and the last thing he heard was a door slamming.

An insistent knocking woke Yugi next. Sleepily, he turned over to look at the clock and the bright red numbers now read 8.05.

Yawning and knowing that he'd have to answer the door since Yami went to work, he shuffled out from underneath the inviting covers and pulled on his shirt that he'd laid over the chair the day before. Feeling slightly less exposed and a little more awake, he went to answer the door.

The sight that met him was a very unexpected one. It was Corrine, frantic and anxious, wearing the same shirt from the day before, though extremely wrinkled now, and haphazardly thrown on jeans. She wasn't even wearing any shoes, only slightly disheveled and dirty socks. Yugi noticed, also, that she didn't have Emerald with her.

"Has Nile come here," she asked worriedly the second Yugi opened the door. "Please tell me he has."

With a yawn, Yugi shook his head.

"I'm so worried. I thought I heard him leaving early this morning, but I was half asleep so I wasn't sure. He didn't leave a note or anything and I don't know what to do! Now Emerald's back at the hotel room all alone and I don't know what to do," she cried, tears shimmering in rivers down her flushed cheeks.

Knowing he couldn't leave her alone like this, Yugi stepped back and invited her inside. "If you'll wait for me to change I'll come with you to get Emerald and then we can wait here until Yami gets back from work. I'm sure Nile's okay and he just lost track of time."

She nodded and Yugi hurried off to the bedroom to throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt. Afterwards he walked with Corrine. It was a quiet walk. Yugi wasn't sure what to say in the situation and Corrine was busy worrying her lower lip to talk probably.

When they started nearing the whorehouse though Yugi's heart started pounding and he quickly looked away.

"Do they disgust you," Corrine asked suddenly, surprising Yugi who didn't think she could talk without choking up.

"What," Yugi asked, startled.

"Those people," Corrine repeated, "Do you not like them so much that you won't even look at them."

"No," he practically shouted, but caught himself at the last minute.

"Then why'd you look away?"

"I just…it's hard to explain."

"I see."

The rest of the way to the hotel was spent in silence.

When they arrived in the hotel room that Corrine and Nile were staying in, Yugi hung back by the door while Corrine went to gather up Emerald and a few things.

The room was pretty barren, not much of anything to look at. There was the bed that just barely fit two people, the sheets still mussed up and somewhat falling on the floor, a small, broke bedside table with a broken lamp, its cord sparking every few seconds, and Yugi could've sworn he saw a cockroach waddle around the corner just before it disappeared.

"I'm done, let's get out of here," Corrine said, looking a little less stressed out now that she had Emerald. Her eyes wouldn't look at Yugi though and he could tell she seemed embarrassed about the state of the room.

"Come on," Yugi smiled, let's go back to the apartment and you can have something to eat. I'm sure Emerald would like to have something too."

Back at the his and Yami's apartment, Yugi helped Corrine and Emerald to get settled and he was relieved to see that Corrine had calmed down. It wasn't until then that he noticed the table, devoid of any note. His eyes widened and his breathing picked up with worry. Completely forgetting about Corrine, he dashed for the phone and punched in the speed dial for Yami's work that his boyfriend had written down for him.

"Hello," a bored voice answered. They were about to continue, but Yugi interrupted before the boy could.

"Is Yami there," he asked quickly. "Did Yami show up this morning for work or to say he wasn't going to be there?"

"Oh, you must be Yugi," the voice said, perking up noticeably. Yugi didn't know how this guy knew who he was, but he frankly didn't care right then. "No, he didn't show up at all. His boss was pissed off when he found out he didn't call in."

"I see," Yugi frowned, worry and fear of what could've happened clenching at his throat and making it harder and harder to breathe as the seconds ticked by.

"You mean you don't know where he is," the boy asked after a passing of silence.

"No, no I don't," Yugi choked out, tears blurry his vision as he imagined all the horrible things that could've happened. "Do you know if someone who looks like him only older came in," he questioned, thinking Nile had somehow found out where Yami works.

"Nope, sorry, Yugi; I've been in the back all day."

"Oh," Yugi choked again, "T-thank you." He hung up without saying goodbye. His fingers were shaking madly as he stared at the wall. Thoughts of Yami were all that was on his mind. Slowly, hesitantly, he looked back at the table in hopes that the note had only fallen on the floor and he hadn't noticed before. Nothing, barren; the table was entirely empty of everything except its shiny surface, the same went for the shaggy carpet underneath it.

It all seemed to hit Yugi as tears stung at his wide, unseeing eyes. He couldn't even hear when Corrine started calling his name in a panic. He only managed to snap out of it when he was shaken awake by the worried woman.

"Yugi, are you okay? What happened?"

"Yami," he croaked out around his tightly clenched throat. "He never showed up for work. He didn't even call in."

Corrine gapes, bringing her hand up to her face. She was entirely speechless and unable to grasp what was going on. She watched helplessly as Yugi trudged down the hall, head hanging low and arms swinging limply at his sides.

"Yugi," she whispered, unsure of how to help the soulless seeming boy before her.

"I'm just going to go lay down. I'm not feeling very well right now." And the truth was: he felt sick to his stomach. In all the times Yugi had spent with Yami, the crimson-eyed teen had never left Yugi completely or made him feel blind to what he was doing. To have both of those things happen at the same was enough to make Yugi feel broken and used, no better than when he first arrived at the whorehouse.

_How could he just leave without saying anything _Yugi thought hopelessly, falling into bed and burying himself under the cool covers. _No note? He's never left without saying something about it in someway before. There's always been a soft goodbye, or a kiss, or hug, something! I feel so empty just thinking about it._ He sniffed lightly, rubbing his nose against his sleeve.

"Yugi," Corrine whispered in the room.

The amethyst-eyed teen shifted so his head was showing over the sheets, but not doing or saying anything else.

Corrine stepped into the room, placing a mug on the table beside the bed. "I made you some tea," she whispered, not wanting to disturb the boy. "It always helps to make me feel better."

Yugi nodded a thank you and watched carelessly as his boyfriend's sister-in-law walked out of the room. As the door closed behind her, it hit him:

**Shouting waking him up. Yami not in the bed. Door slamming.**

He jumped out of bed and ran down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the door.

Corrine stood up from the couch where she was holding Emerald. "What is it, Yugi?"

"I have to go find him," he replied worriedly, making sure he had the spare keys to the apartment. "He out with Nile somewhere."

"Yugi, just because they're gone doesn't mean you should look futilely around for them. What if they come back before you do? Yami will be worried."

"I heard them yelling this morning, really early. I thought it was the neighbors, but it was Yami and Nile. They were arguing and must've stormed out of the place together when I heard the door slam."

"Arguing? I know they don't get along very well, but coming over here to pick a fight with – "

"I know it sounds dumb, but it's true! I may have been half-asleep, but I know what I heard." With that, he ran out the door, calling for Corrine to stay there just in case they did show up.

Yugi ran all over the town for hours. He knew Yami wouldn't want a big scene if there was yelling and maybe even physical violence so he was sure to check in allies and even as far as looking in buildings he knew to be deserted. When that didn't work he went back to the apartment buildings and asked random people of they'd seen anybody matching either of the two brothers' descriptions. Three hours later he was beginning to think he'd never find Yami.

Collapsing to his knees in the middle of the park he finally let the tears that have been threatening to fall since this morning drip down his pink-tinted cheeks. He couldn't believe this was happening. He'd always been able to find Yugi when he wanted to before, granted that he never had to look for him under such circumstances.

After getting control of himself again, Yugi looked up and started stumbling along down the familiar path leading to the whorehouse. He doubted he'd find Yami there and definitely not Nile, but he knew he could find Malik and Marik there.

Opening the rusty and splintered wood, he walked down the hall. He saw several pairs of eyes staring into his back, no doubt wondering what he was doing back there.

"Hey, Yugi, did you get dumped already," someone called to him. He ignored them and continued walking on.

"Yugi," the sound of his best friend's voice shouted from down the hall. Heavy pounding was the next thing he heard as he stopped and before even looking around he was gathered into Malik's warm arms. "I'm so glad to see you again. It seems like forever since I last saw you. I was planning on tracking you down soon," he said excitedly. "He won't admit it, but I know Marik misses you too. Come on, let's go see him!" When Yugi didn't say he looked down at his shorter friend and felt his insides clench tightly.

"What is it, Yugi? Did Yami hurt you? Tell me what happened," he said, hugging Yugi tightly.

"I can't find him," Yugi croaked.

"What do you mean?"

"Last night I heard yelling and I thought it was the neighbors and Yami wasn't there so I figured he was telling them to be quiet or take it somewhere else. I didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep. When I woke up he still wasn't there, but I thought he went to work and so I went to answer the door. It was Corrine, Yami's sister-in-law, and she told me Nile was missing too. I just found out it was actually him and Yami yelling and they left the apartment."

Malik shook his head and hugged Yugi tighter, unable to think of what Yugi must be feeling but still wanting to comfort him as best as he could.

"Can I get anything for you? Something to drink or – "

Yugi shook his head, "No, I just want to lie down but Corrine's still at the apartment and I just…I don't want to go back there just yet."

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Come on." Malik led Yugi down the hall and into his room. "You can stay here. I'll go tell Marik you're here and I'll make sure you aren't bothered. If I find out anything about Yami than I'll come get you. I promise. You just stay here and rest; you look exhausted."

Yugi nodded and headed straight for the bed. A hand on his wrist pulled him back and he looked back into Malik's concerned eyes. "Don't worry, Yugi. I won't let it stay like this." He leant down and pressed a soft kiss to Yugi's temple before finally letting him go. He closed the door behind him as Yugi laid on the bed and covered himself entirely.

The exhaustion and worry of the day consumed Yugi as he lay on the bed and it wasn't long before his eyes closed and he went to sleep, hoping that his awakening brought better news than his first one.

_Yugi prayed the moment he found out what was held in the backroom that he would never have to go there. He knew he wouldn't enjoy it no matter whom it was he was with when it happened. As it was, the day after was the day his next customer requested the backroom for him. _

_It was every bit as scary as he had imagined it to be. There was chest with all sorts of 'toys' overflowing from it and rope hanging up on the wall. His eyes had widened terribly when he saw that it was the first thing the man had taken. He didn't chance a look while the man was shifting around in the toy chest. In fact, he sat as far away from the man and the chest as possible, his eyes clenched tightly shut. _

"_That seems like a fine place to start," the man chuckled, making Yugi's skin crawl and shivers race down his back. "Lie down, on your stomach and lay spread eagle," he ordered. _

_Unable to disobey, Yugi did so, albeit slowly He tried to stop his quivering, but it seemed to only increase when the man held one wrist and started tying the rope in a knot around it. _

"_You're going to enjoy this," the man mumbled under his breath as he moved on to the other wrist, among other things that Yugi didn't catch. _

_Once the man was finished tying Yugi to the makeshift bed he let out a quivering sigh and Yugi could just feel the man's greedy hands on him already. _

"_It's been far too long," he sighed. Yugi was confused by the statement, but decided not to comment on it since he really didn't want to know. As it was, the man continued on anyway. "My wife and I have been having so many problems. She finally left me last night. She had forbade me from ever coming here again, but now that she's gone I can have all the fun that I want. You should be grateful that you're the first I've had in a long time. I'll make sure you're paid well." The next thing Yugi heard was the low hum of something vibrating and that was the warning he got very the vibrator was shoved tightly into his entrance. Still be new to such experiences, he bit his tongue against the pain, desperate not to scream and make an idiot out of himself. _

"_You like this, don't you," the customer teased. "You're coloring so creamy and pale and then your hole so pink and enticing. I could stay here forever just admiring your beauty." He then roughly started moving the vibrator, rough thrusts before rotating it in large circles. _

_Yugi couldn't hold it in any longer. He took a deep breath and screamed. _

He woke in a tumble of sweat and tears, his pulse beating so fast he feared his heart would pound straight through his chest. It wasn't until a few seconds after calming down that he was clutching at someone, someone who was holding him tightly but still gentle as though as simple caress.

"I'm here with you now, Yugi," Yami's deep voice whispered softly to him. "I won't leave you again."


	24. Search and Rescue Part2

Yugi couldn't understand it. He sat there on the bed, clutching Yami in a death grip as his tears fell freely. So many different thoughts raced through his head so fast that none of it made any sense and all of it was one blur.

_Where was Yami all day? How did he know where to find me? Did he bring Nile here? Why did that dream suddenly start occurring again? _All those questions and no way to ask without choking around his tears.

It was true. That dream was definitely no stranger to Yugi. It had stopped though, once he'd settled into his new life at the whorehouse (as well as taking some pills Malik had given him).

The amethyst-eyed teen didn't know how long he sat there holding onto Yami, nor how long Yami had stood at the edge of the bed holding him tightly Right then though, all he could think about was Yami's comforting embrace.

When he finally managed to calm down he pulled away and offered an embarrassed, watery smile to the crimson-eyed teen. His cheeks were a light pink as he found himself unable to look away once his eyes had locked with blood red. When Yami blinked, however, he looked down. "Hey, Yami," he squeaked. "I've been worried about you."

"I could say the same for you. It was lucky that Malik saw me in the park. What happened? Why'd you come here?"

"Nothing," Yugi looked off to the side, self-conscious from the state his boyfriend had found him in. "Where were you? I tried looking for you."

An annoyed and frustrated look crossed Yami's face and Yugi wondered if he shouldn't have asked. He was about to apologize when Yami replied, "Nile; the jerk had the nerve to start arguing about how 'he doesn't agree with my way of living'."

"He came over at three in the morning to say that," Yugi asked with disbelief, his eyes wide as he glanced shyly at Yami.

"Can you believe that? All these years he couldn't have cared less about what I did or even if I was still living and now he decides to show up only because of his wife and then takes it upon himself to come over at three in the morning to say something like that."

"I know; I heard the yelling."

"That's why I took it outside. I hadn't actually meant to be that long and didn't really realize it until we found ourselves on the other side of town. I didn't want to wake you and I certainly didn't want to have break down the door with that pounding on the door. If he found us together in bed then you'd have been caught up in the middle and I really didn't want him making you a target." Yami explained, running a hand through his hair in agitation.

"Then what happened after that? I thought it was the neighbors and that you'd left to go tell them to be quiet or something, but then Corrine came over and everything happened so fast after that."

Taking a deep breath, Yami started to explain what had happened after Nile had stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door in the process.

Earlier that Morning

Yami led the way down into the parking lot where his brother would be able to yell without disturbing anyone, most of all Yugi. Thinking of his boyfriend he'd hoped that he'd get back to the apartment before Yugi woke up and started getting worried. He'd rather not have him know about this confrontation.

Upon reaching the parking lot he didn't stop until he was in area devoid mostly of cars, just in case Nile wanted to get physical. Sighing, and still wanting to prolong the inevitably, he turned to face his older brother and tiredly stated, "What do you want?"

"You already know what I want, Yami? How is that so hard for you to understand? Just give the flee-infested apartment to your little room mate and leave," Nile demanded, rudely emphasizing 'room mate'.

Yami was forced to bite his tongue against Nile's snippy attitude towards his boyfriend. This was why he opened the door in the first place, so Nile wouldn't find out about his relationship with him. Instead of mentioned Yugi at all, he replied, "What makes you think I'll just do what you want me to? When have I ever done that before? I'm happy where I am and I don't want to just put it behind me."

"You could be better than this, Yami, I know you could."

"Let me guess, you want me to go back to school and get some high-classed job like you do." It was said more as a statement than a question. Nile replied to it either way.

"What's wrong with having a stable life with someone I love? At least I've come that far whereas you don't even have a girlfriend yet."

"What makes you think I don't have someone I love?" Yami's eyes narrowed. He wouldn't allow this conversation to deter him of his decision. He likes his job at the restaurant. He's in love with the perfect person for him. He likes the apartment he's in, no matter how small or 'flee-infested' it was. And he wasn't going to give any of it up no matter what Nile or anybody else said to him. "The job I have is doing just fine and if the need comes up I'll take another one."

"You realize father isn't going to help you when you run out of money to pay for the apartment. I doubt he's sending money to you for the rent as it is, if even keeping into contact with you."

The younger shook his head. "You're right about that, he isn't helping me and I like it just the same as even if by some miracle he did. All he did was drink anyway, as well as take up space. At least Yugi's helping out with the apartment instead of making the place reek of alcohol constantly."

"What exactly does he do? He doesn't even look old enough to drive," Nile snapped back.

Yami could feel his blood boiling as more insults rained on Yugi. _No! No, I will not explode. This is pointless and I just want to get back to bed and forget this ever happened. _"He quit his only job a while ago but he paid well enough to keep for at least rest of the year, not that I'd ask him to help unless it was needed. He cleans up the place while I'm gone and makes sure it's a complete mess all the time. That's well enough for me to keep him around."

"What is he, your little maid? How long do you expect to keep him around for something so significant?"

"It might seem that way, but it isn't," Yami answered indifferently.

"Damn it, Yami, don't you care at all!"

"And why should you care what happens to me at all? Is it because your wife will somehow place the blame on you and how you didn't even try doing anything to help me?"

"If you wouldn't have stopped at high school, than you could've maid something of yourself. Don't you even wonder what would've happened if you'd stuck with it?"

Yami smirked and turned away, heading for the door. "Everyday," he called back, "And I'll still glad that I did it."

A low growl was all his warning before he was suddenly slammed up against the wall and held there tightly, Nile's arm digging mercilessly into his back. "I didn't say you could walk away yet. You already did it once and I won't allow you to do it again," he snarled.

"You aren't the boss of me. Now let go!" Yami struggled to get Nile off of him, but it seemed useless with the way his older brother's elbow seemed to tear into him the harder he tried getting away.

"I won't be blamed for what happens to you and I know I'll be the one being glared at when father finds out the mockery you're living."

"He's too drunk to realize he has another son to even bother with."

Nile growled again and he shoved again Yami again. "You've got a big mouth for someone who can't even fight back against me."

Smirking, Yami found a good footing on the wall and he looked back and replied, "Why should I fight with someone who's not even worth my time." With that, he shoved back against the wall, kicking as hard as he could.

Escaping at last, he ran as fast he could away from the parking lot and the apartment buildings. He would've rather gone back to Yugi and forget this even happened, but he knew Nile would follow him and he wouldn't bring that Yugi even if it meant being shoved up roughly against another wall with a bony elbow stabbing his back.

Yami was interrupted by Yugi's gasp and then a lapful of his boyfriend. "Yugi," he questioned, rubbing his back gently, coaxing him to look at him.

"Did he hurt you, Yami? He didn't get you again, did he," Yugi choked, clutching Yami's shirt in his hands.

"No, he didn't, love. Don't worry."

"You're sure? I wouldn't have minded if you brought him up to the apartment. I could've dealt with him."

"I wouldn't have brought that on you, Yugi. I care too much for you to get hurt."

Yugi blushed softly, burying his head in between Yami's shoulder and neck. "I'd die if you go hurt, Yami. I don't want to be the cause of your pain."

"It wasn't any of your fault; it couldn't possibly be. It's my brother's fault and if he can't understand how happy I am with the way my life is going right now than that's his problem and I'll deal with it as I see fit. I don't want you to worry about it. Okay?"

The younger teen nodded, rubbing his cheek comfortingly against Yami's shirt. "How did you find out I was here?"

Yami smirked and held Yugi closer. "Well, I'm not sure how I lost my brother, but I managed to. It was somewhere around that coffee place on the other side of town and that big super market that's going out of business soon. I ran through there and came out from the back. Just to make sure I doubled back around to the front and didn't see him so I took a bus back here. To stall for time in case he went back to the apartment I went through the park when Malik saw me. He told me that you were here and that you'd been worried about me."

"Yes, I looked everywhere I could think of for you, but I didn't think you'd gone that far. I didn't even think to ask any of the bus drivers that I saw driving down the street," Yugi looked away shyly. "I should've known you could take care of yourself. After all, you lived with the guy."

"Now, it's your turn."

Yugi's eyes widened, not understanding. "What do you mean, Yami?"

"That dream wasn't just nothing, Yugi. I know you better than that and you were calling out no the entire time as though your very life depended on it. Tell me what it was."

Yugi looked away, his blush deepening slightly. "I-I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, you'll be mad at me."

"I could never be mad at you. Just tell me what it was about and you might feel better."

"No, I won't."

"How can you be sure until you do?"

"I just do, Yami!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Yugi slapped his hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…."

"It's alright. I should've have pushed you. You had every right to yell at me." He shifted Yugi back onto the bed and stood up. "I'm going to get us something to drink; I doubt you've eaten anything all day."

Yugi watched helplessly at Yami headed towards the door, away from him, because of him. He chest clenched around him, making it hard to breathe. In the one desperate attempt he could think of to keep Yami from walking away he shouted, "It was nightmare!"

The crimson-eyed teen paused with his hand on he doorknob. After a second he looked back over his shoulder casually, just in case Yugi hadn't meant to say anything. He waited, then nodded, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I do," Yugi cried. "I want to tell you."

Yami nodded again and walked over to the bed, not objecting when Yugi crawled back into his lap and clutched at his shirt tightly.

"I haven't had that nightmare in so long, Yami. I thought it had gone away," he sobbed. It took a while, but he finally managed to cry out the entire thing from the beginning to the end, explaining with all the horrible details he'd rather just forget.

"That really happened to you, didn't it," Yami questioned, holding Yugi tightly. A small nod was his only answer. "That's really why you can't stand toys, isn't it, Yugi?" Again, another nod. "Then why did you tell me it was because of your parents?"

"I don't know," Yugi cried. "I didn't want you to think I was just being a baby because of one l little thing that happened to me."

"I could never think that of you, Yugi." Yami pulled Yugi closer and kissed him lightly on top of the head. "I just would like to know why you lied to me. Now that I know I feel even closer to you than before."

"Thank you, Yami." Feeling tired even after his nap, not knowing how long he was asleep for before his nightmare took over, he closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep against Yami.

Yami smiled lightly as he felt his boyfriend relax limply against him. _Rest for now, Yugi. I'll make sure nothing else disturbs you._


	25. Love Me

Going back to the apartment with Yugi was one of the harder decisions to make on Yami's part. He didn't want to bring his young love just in case Nile was there and still in as bad of a mood as in the parking lot. Yugi insisted he go though and even promised to run to all heavens if Nile was there and still angry.

Upon arriving at the apartment, however, both boys were entirely surprised. The place was deserted of not only Nile, but Corrine and Emerald as well. The only clue that gave way to them being there was a sheet of paper on the table, a note written on it.

Cautiously, as though it would burst up in flames any moment, Yami approached the table and picked up the letter, reading it with a crease between his brow. Yugi, reading over his shoulder, placed his hands on Yami's arms to help him balance on his toes, being careful not to bring the older off balance.

_Yugi,_

_Thank you so much for all your help and allowing myself and Emerald to stay here. _

_I'm happy to say that I managed to convince Nile not to wait for Yami or yourself to return. He was rather upset when he returned, after all. I can't promise for him to stay away though._

_Corrine_

Yugi allowed a small smile to cross his lips and closed his eyes, leaning comfortably against Yami and wrapping his arms around his waist loosely. "I'd say today has been a very long and trying day."

Yami made a noise of agreement and dropped the paper back on the table to put his own hands over Yugi's.

"I'll bet you're really tired too."

Again, another noise.

"Why don't you go to bed? I'll call your work and try getting you out of trouble."

After another noise of agreement from Yami, the older pulled away from Yugi to stumble down the hall tiredly, heading for the bedroom. Yugi watched him go before turned to the phone and dialing the number for the restaurant.

The boss he was talking to was nothing short of aggravating for Yugi. The man couldn't seem to understand how family problems could prevent Yami from calling into work or showing up on time. He was just about to hang up on the guy when the boss finally caved in and said he'd ignore the incident.

Yugi was a second short of slamming the phone back on the cradle when the dial tone clicked, but remember Yami trying to sleep and, instead, carefully placed the receiver down where it belonged. "Sheesh, how infuriating," he grumbled. "How can Yami stand that jerk?"

Soft kisses placed along his neck and a chuckling caused goose-bumps to rise up on his arms and a shiver to run down his back.

"I don't like your boss," whined Yugi playfully, leaning back against the warm body and reaching his arms up to wrap awkwardly around the other's neck and to tangle his fingers in the soft hair.

"Neither does anyone else," Yami chuckled. "Come to bed now, love. You look exhausted." He pulled Yugi closer to him, resting his chin on the shorter teen's shoulder, his hands gripping Yugi's arms lightly.

Yugi didn't say anything, but, instead, took Yami's hand and dragged him with him to the bedroom.

"Are you trying to say something," the older teased.

"I just can't sleep right without you," Yugi admitted, "As you obviously witnessed back at the – "

Yugi was suddenly cut off when Yami pulled him back and placed his lips hungrily over Yugi's, his arms holding the younger tightly against him.

"All the morning gall I could think about was what you were doing and what you would think when you couldn't find a note from me," Yami smirked against his boy's lips, only pulled away from the kiss enough to allow speech.

"Well, I freaked myself out worrying about only to scare myself worse when I tried sleeping back at…back there."

Yami chuckled, pressing another kiss to Yugi's lips. "Still can't say it, can you," he teased.

Yugi pulled away, staring at the floor with his arms wrapped around himself. He turned away from Yami. "That man," he whispered, too afraid to speak any louder, "he said such horrible things to me. Every since I woke up earlier I can't get his barbaric voice out of my head. It echoes around, repeating itself, and I feel disgusting just thinking about it."

"Yugi."

"He keeps saying how I was a whore and how I'll always be one. That I'd never be good enough for anyone to love and I would never have my happy ending that I was dreaming of." Yugi turned around, tears blurring his vision as he looked up at Yami sadly. He reached his hand towards him desperately, choking, "You love me, Yami?"

Yami stepped forward, his mouth open with disbelief at how much grief and anguish was spilling from Yugi's voice. He took Yugi's outstretched hand in both of his, bringing the hand to his lips. "You are all I have to live for, Yugi. All that I have."

Yugi choked, shaking with all his nerves feeling as though they were on fire. "You aren't angry with me?"

The older had no idea what Yugi could be thinking to make it seem as though he'd be angry with him. He took one hand from Yugi's, keeping his other holding it tightly, now placing his free hand on Yugi's cheek. "No, Yugi, never. Never, love."

More tears dripped down Yugi's cheeks as he choked once again. "Thank you, Yami," he blubbered. "Thank you."

Yami frowned, not knowing how to comfort the broken child in front of him. He stepped forward again and pulled Yugi into his chest, holding him tightly. "I'm here for you, Yugi."

"I want my dream, Yami," Yugi cried.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll take care of you." Yami held Yugi closely, rubbing his back and shoulders lightly, kissing his cheek and rocking them back and forth gently. "Come on, let's go lay down and try to get some rest."

Yugi didn't say anything, only kept holding onto Yami, his hands grasping so tight is knuckles were turning white. When Yami tried pulling away to walk down the hall, Yugi cried out and pulled Yami back. Yami was further surprised by his attitude when Yugi hid his face in his shirt, quivering as though he was cold and couldn't be warmed up.

Yami thought of something better and wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist, lifting him up enough for the younger to wrap his legs around his waist. Yugi did so, wrapping his arms around his neck and letting Yami walk them to the bedroom. He allowed himself to be placed on the bed, watching Yami carefully to make sure he didn't go too far from him.

The older smiled gently at his lost boy, trying to think of something to appease his fears of him leaving him. After all, it was the only thing he could think of after what Yugi told that made sense. He removed his shirt, placing it on a chair on the opposite side of the room, before laying down on the bed beside Yugi. He almost chuckled when Yugi curled into, but held it back in favor of wrapping his arms around him, instead.

"Will you just hold me, Yami?"

"Always, Yugi."

"Yami," Yugi croaked out, glancing up at Yami carefully, almost shyly.

"Yes, Yugi," Yami whispered just as quietly.

"I couldn't remember who that man was until – "

"Shh," Yami hushed. "You don't have to talk about it anymore."

"No, Yami, no. I want to tell you; I need to." Yugi took a deep breath, snuggling closer to his only source of comfort. "The man who told me…that I was a whore, I couldn't remember who he was. I do now."

"Who was he, Yugi," Yami asked, knowing Yugi needed to get this out.

When Yugi didn't say anything, Yami just figured he'd changed his mind and he was okay with that. He closed his eyes and was content to go to sleep when Yugi shifted and mumbled something into his chest. He pushed Yugi away and asked him again.

"It was the man at the fair, Yami."

"What," Yami's eyes widened. He stared at Yugi, unable to believe what he heard. "That bastard who said all those cruel things to you?"

Yugi nodded. "Are you mad at me?"

"Never, Yugi; just like I told you before." In truth, Yami was pissed of, but not at Yugi. He was staring at the same guy who hurt Yugi more than the other customers at the whorehouse ever could and he didn't even know it. "I'll watch over you now, Yugi. Just forget that guy and what he told you before. Listen to me, now. You're handsome, you're all I could ever want in my life, and I'm in love with you. Believe me?"

Yugi watched him for a second before a small smile broke out on his face and his tense muscles finally relaxed. "Yami," Yugi whispered, "There's one more thing."

"What's that, Yugi?"

"Are you tired of waiting for me?"

"For what," Yami asked, confused. A second later it hit him and he pulled Yugi closer. "Of course not, Yugi. I couldn't ever tire of waiting for you. I'll wait for you until you're – "

"I'm ready."

"Exactly," Yami smiled.

"I meant that, Yami. I am ready."

Yami's eyes widened, searching Yugi's face for any sign of indecision. "Yugi, are you –"

"Please, Yami, don't be one of those people who asks, 'are you sure,' a million times before you finally decide to do something. Just love me?"

"Always."

Yes, readers, the time finally came! There is a lemon in this chapter, but as I'm sure you are aware I'm not allowed to put it up. If you would like to read it, feel free to email me or leave it in a review **with** your email address. I've received many who don't even leave their email address in a review and it's time-consuming to try tracking it down. Thank you.


	26. Miracle

Don't forget to vote for the next story located at the bottom of the chapter. Thank you.

Yugi woke with great contentment the next morning. He shifted closer to the warm body beside him, only to be disappointed when he found none. Fear struck him faster than it had the day before and he quickly sat up, shoving the sheets off of him. His heart slowed though when he saw Yami coming back into the room with two steaming mugs, one in each hand.

"I was just coming to wake you, Yugi. You okay, you look as though you've seen a ghost," Yami joked.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine now. You're with me and I've never felt better than I do right now."

"You aren't too sore, are you," Yami asked, carefully sitting on the bed and handing one mug to Yugi.

Yugi covered the both of them back up with the sheets and leant gently against Yami. "You've helped to cure me of my past. For once, I finally feel rid of it for good. Perhaps it was a good thing I had that nightmare. If I didn't, I might not ever have found the courage to tell you the truth."

"You would've, Yugi. I know you would've, given time."

The younger smiled and cuddled up closer to the crimson-eyed teen beside him.

Their quiet moment together was short lived, however, when the phone began ringing insistently. Yami grumbled and refused to go answer it. Instead, he opted for drinking from his mug and tangling his fingers in Yugi's soft locks.

"You really should answer that, Yami. It's rude to ignore it and it could be important," Yugi scolded, though he showed no sign from removing himself to go answer the phone either nor get off of Yami to let him answer it as well.

"Who else would call here other than the restaurant? It is my day off and there is plenty of people there that they wouldn't need to call me in. The only person it could be is an annoying solicitor saying I won a million dollars if only I could answer their pointless question of the day."

Yugi choked into his mug, laughing as he pushed against Yami playfully. "You come up with the weirdest things to say. I definitely enjoy when you say how much you love me though."

"Really," Yami played along. "Well then, I'll just have to say it more often and make sure you never forget it."

"I shall never forget it as long as I have you by my side."

Yami chuckled and nodded before groaning at the now insistent beep of the answering machine. "I don't suppose there is any way for me to ignore that," he grumped. "Come, help me to slay the evil threat of the rude caller." He rolled out the bed and pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants.

Yugi shook his head at the playful mood and followed Yami out of the room, pulling on his faded jeans from the day before. The voice he heard on the answering machine froze him in the middle of the hall, his mouth open with disbelief.

_Hey, Yami, it's Nile. I know you probably want nothing more to do with me after how I treated you yesterday. I'm on my home now with Corrine and Emerald though so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Corrine and I talked and I apologize for the way I insulted the way you live. This all seems strange for you, I know, when only yesterday I was shouting at you. Corrine explained things to me better though, a reason for which I married her and am in love with her so is that she can make me see things that no other can. I only hope you find someone like her some day. _

_The reason for the unexpected call is that I spoke with father and, well, you'll find out in the mail. Call it the miracle that you mentioned to me before._

When the machine beeped again, signaling the end of the message as if on cue there was a knock on the door.

Yami stared at it for a second, his fingers fiddling amongst themselves before he finally stepped closer to answer the door. Yugi watched as his lover opened the door. He spoke to the man for a second before taking the offered envelope, which they stared at for a minute in disbelief as Yami's father's name was written on the front.

After what seemed like hours, Yugi took the envelope from his lover and opened it cautiously. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, watching as a thin piece fell to the floor. They ignored it and focused solely on the letter. Yami unfolded it and they read it together.

_Yami, _

_This may seem odd to you at the moment, but all will be explained. First, I want to apologize for abandoning you how I did. You are more of an adult than I ever could've been and I am sorry I forced you to be the parent and take care of us when I was still living with you. _

_I received a phone call early this morning from your brother, who demanded I take my responsibilities. Thinking it over, I agreed with him. I know this won't be enough to compensate for all I've done, but I will try. I can't promise that I will become the perfect father one day, but hope that I will be enough for you to call me that some day._

Yami stared at the letter a bit longer before he saw Yugi knelt down and picked up the fallen piece of paper. Hearing a slight gasp, he looked closer and felt his mouth fall open just slightly.

In Yugi's hand was the rent for the next month and, taped just behind it, was the rent Yami had already paid for the last three months since his father had left.

"Dear gods, he actually paid me back. The miracle in which I said could never happen, has occurred." Yami grinned and knelt beside Yugi, holding him closely, feeling the stability he'd wanting for so long.

"I don't think your brother knows just how much he really did for us," Yugi whispered. "Not one bit."

Hope that was a good ending. It had been rolling around in my head for ages and I just had to do it. Anyway, it's time for the voting for the next story everyone's MagicReeni shall write .

It was just a Game – Yugi is just a regular teen going through the regular problems. What happens when his world is turned around by an unexpected visitor and in a weird arrival? It was just a game until a strange power surge made one of the characters in Yugi's favorite game a reality.

Out at Sea – Bakura's a captain of his ship, The Sennen, along with his two top mates, Marik and Yami. Bakura kidnaps Ryou in order to keep from being killed from Ryou's father, the governor of the island, and Yugi and Malik follow for their own reasons.

Down to Earth – Yugi's a god sent back to be reborn on Earth after he saved the heavens from a great evil. Malik and Ryou are sent to after him when Yugi begins to have dreams about what happened. Of course, things never go directly as planned when they run into the three teens who look just like them.

Shadowed Light – Shuichi's been depressed for a while now and it doesn't help when Yuki's always busy and tells him to get lost a lot. Hiro's with Ayaka, Suguru doesn't like him enough as it is, so Shuichi doesn't think he'll help anyway. It feels to him as though nobody really notices his change in attitude. – Gravitation.

Differences Don't Matter – Yugi's an elf and Yami's a rich guy's only son. Elves are slaves to the humans and Yugi's the best as they come. When these two meet there's no telling what could happen between them.

Happy voting, readers. And thank you in advance for your votes. I'm not sure how long it'll be up, but I'll put up the results as soon as I've found the one that is going to unmistakably win.


	27. Votes Are Up!

It was Just a Game: 5

Out at Sea: 3

Down to Earth: 7

Shadowed Light:

Difference Don't Matter: 11


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